DEC  28  1953 


BV  3271  .K5  W4 
Webb,  Willis  S. 
Incidents  and  trials  in  the 
life  of  Rev.  Eugenio 


a 


^  ^^^^ 


DtC  2d  1^' 

V 


INCIDENTS  AND   TRIALS 
IN  THE  LIFE 

OF 

REv.EUGENIOKINGfllD.D.D. 


-THE- 


HERO"  MISSIONARY  TO  BURMA. 


18  30— 1865 


BY 

1/ 

Rev.  WILLIS  S.  WKBB. 


FORT  SCOTT,  KANSAS: 

MONITOR  PUBLISHING  HOUSE  AND  BOOK  BINDERY. 
—1890— 


COPYRIGHTED, 

1890 

BY  WILLIS  S.  WEBB. 


TO  HIS 

CHILDREN  WHO  SURVIVE  HIM 

AND 

THE    LITTLE    CHURCH    WHICH    ENJOYED    HIS    COUNCILS,    WHERE    HIS 
SUN    WENT    DOWN    IN    FULL    ORBED    GLORY, 

THIS  VOLUME 

IS  AFFECTIONATELY  AND    GRATEFULLY  INSCRIBED 
BY 

THE   AUTHOR. 


INTRODUCTION. 


With  the  view  of  doing  good  to  the  cause  of 
missions  and  aiding  the  little  church  of  which  Dr. 
Kincaid  died  an  honored  member,  in  its  efforts  to 
erect  in  Girard,  Kansas,  "The  Kincaid  Memorial 
Church  Edifice,"  I  undertook  the  work  of  rewrit- 
ing and  setting  in  order  some  of  the  thrilling 
incidents  in  the  life  of  one  of  the  greatest  mission- 
aries ever  sent  out  by  our  "American  Baptist 
Missionary  Union." 

The  subject  of  our  sketch  entered  the  field  when 
there  were  but  two  churches  in  Burma.  He  lived 
to  see  Christian  homes  and  churches  established  in 
every  part  of  the  empire.  Some  difficulty  has  been 
experienced  in  collecting  and  setting  in  order  some 
of  the  hitherto  unwritten  incidents;  some  are 
written  as  I  remember  to  have  heard  him  relate 
them.  I  do  not  hope  to  escape  criticism  by  giving 
a  perfect  recital  of  only  the  more  prominent  events 
in  a  life  and  career  second  only  in  importance  to 


6  INTRODUCTION. 

our  First  American  Baptist  Missionary,  Dr.  Judson ; 
and,  in  point  of  endurance,  dauntless  courage,  and 
unselfish  devotion  to  the  Master's  work,  surpassed 
by  none. 

Hoping  the  book  may  have  such  a  reading  as 
will  revive  in  some  measure  the  interest  kindled  in 
missions  by  Dr.  Kincaid's  own  recitals  and  stirring 
appeals  during  his  visits  to  America,  and  that 
some  worthy  young  man  may  take  up  the  work 
laid  down  by  the  "Hero,"  whose  labor  is  ended", 
and  lay  himself  on  the  altar  of  consecrated  work 
for  Jesus.     With  prayer  and  hope  I  send  it  on  its 

mission. 

Willis  S.  Wkbb. 
Girard,  Kansas,  July,  1890.  • 


CONTENTS. 


P.AGE 

CHAPTER  I II 

Birth — Schooldays — Baptism. 

CHArXER  II 24 

Elements  and  Traits  of  Character. 

CHAPTER  III 35 

Longing  for  a  Foreign  Field. 

CHAPTER  IV 43 

Entering  the  Field — Wife's  Death. 

CHAPTER  V 52 

A  Year  in  Rangoon — A  Second  Marriage. 

CHAPTER  VI 60 

From  Rangoon  to  Ava, 

CHAPTER   VII 68 

Opposition  at  the  Capital. 

CHAPTER  VIII 78 

The  Gospel  in  Ava. 

CHAPTER  IX 85 

Sowing  Beside  Fresh  Waters. 

CHAPTER  X 95 

Captured  by  Robbers. 

CHAPTER  XI ro5 

In  Greater  Perils. 

CHAPTER  XII 121 

The  Country  and  People  Visited. 


8  CONTENTS. 

,  PAGE. 

CHAPTER  XIII 128 

Reaching  Home -Revolution — Change  of  Field. 

CHAPTER  XIV 144 

A  Gracious  Work  in  Arracan. 

CHAPTER  XV 154 

Visit  to  the  Mountain  Chief,  Chetza. 

CHAPTER  XVI 166 

A  Visit  to  America. 

CHAPTER  XVn 175 

Barriers  Breaking  Away. 

CHAPTER  XVIII 191 

Enroute  Again  for  Burma 

CHAPTER  XIX 201 

Resuming  Work. 

CHAPTER  XX 214 

Having  Favor  with  all  the  People. 

CHAPTER   XXI 225 

Interrupted  by  War. 

CHAPTER  XXII 241 

Neglected  Prome,  a  Field  of  Promise. 

CHAPTER  XXIII 248 

In  Favor  with  the  King. 

CHAPTER  XXIV 257 

vServing  the  King. 

CHAPTER  XXV 268 

Last  Years  in  Burma. 

CHAPTER  XXVI 276 

His  Kansas  Home. 


Incidents  and  Trials  in  the  Life  of 
E.  KINCAID. 


INCIDENTS  AND  TRIALS  IN  THE  LIFE  OF 
EUGENIO  KINCAID 


CHAPTER  I. 

BIRTH — SCHOOL  DAYS BAPTISM. 

To  Noah  Kincaid,  a  respectable  physician,  and 
Lydia  Hough  Kincaid,  his  wife,  in  their  home  at 
Weathersfield,  Connecticut,  January  9th,  1797, 
was  born,  the  eldest  of  eight  children,  Kugenio 
Kincaid. 

His  parents  were  consistent  members  of  the 
Presbyterian  church,  and  highly  esteemed  for  their 
good  qualities  and  devotion  to  the  Master's  cause. 
Like  others  of  this  good  people  they  wanted  their 
children  to  receive  the  rite  of  baptism,  but  had 
neglected  the  matter  until  Eugenio  was  old  enough 
to  ofifer  some  objections;  but,  finally,  asking  "what 
good  will  it  do?"  was  told  by  his  father  if  it  did 
no  good  it  could  do  no  harm,  he  waived  his  objec- 
tions and  received  the  rite  of  baptism  at  the  age 
of  twelve  years  after  the  manner  of  his  people. 


12  KINCAID,  THE  HERO    MISSIONARY. 

So  he  needed  only  confirmation  to  admit  him  to 
full  membership  with  the  people  of  his  choice. 

Nothing  very  striking  in  his  early  life  seems 
worthy  of  special  mention,  except  his  great  thirst  for 
knowledge,  and  the  occasional  outcroppings  of  his 
Scotch  grit  and  determination  to  obtain  the  most 
liberal  education  possible  amid  his  surroundings. 

It  was  a  struggle  then,  with  limited  means  and 
few  books,  to  work  one's  way  up  to  the  academy 
or  high  school.  But  urged  on  by  his  unfaltering 
purpose  to  develop  and  use  whatever  poweHS  he 
possessed  or  might  acquire,  every  obstacle  must  be 
surmounted. 

He  borrowed  and  read  books  and  taught  school 
and  studied  until  the  time  arrived  that  he  was 
urged  to  appear  before  the  session  for  full  member- 
ship. For  this  action  he  could  see  no  good  reason, 
and  declined  because  of  some  disagreement  with  the 
answer  to  the  question  in  the  catechism,  "What 
doth  baptism  signify?' '  He  read  standard  works  on 
the  subject  only  to  have  his  difficulties  increase;  and 
while  teaching  school  thirty  miles  from  home,  he  was 
so  wrought  upon  by  a  deep  spirit  of  inquiry,  that  he 
hired  a  horse  and  rode  home  on  Saturday  to  have 
his  mother  show  him  the  authority  in  the  Bible 


BIRTH— SCHOOL  DAYS— BAPTISM.  13 

for  infant  baptism,  which  he  believed  some  way 
must  be  right,  but  he  could  not  find  the  authority 
for  it.  Reaching  home  at  sundown,  he  at  once 
began  his  inquiries,  as  he  must  reach  his  school, 
thirty  miles  distant,  by  school-hour  Monday  morn- 
ing.    He  said : 

"Mother,  where  in  the  Bible  do  you  find  author- 
ity for  infant  baptism?" 

She  said:  ''My  son,  once  I  had  trouble  about 
this  subject,  but  our  pastor  told  me  it  was  all  right, 
and  I  never  have  troubled  any  more  about  it." 

"Mother,  that  does  not  satisfy  me.  I  want  the 
scripture  authority  on  which  our  people  justify 
this  rite  of  the  church  when  confronted  by  those 
who  do  not  believe  in  it." 

"Son,  you  must  go  to  your  father." 
"Father,   where  is  the  authority  in   the   Bible 
for  infant  baptism  ? ' ' 

"Why,  my  son,  the  Bible  is  full  of  it.*' 
"Well,  father,  put  your  finger  on  one  place." 
"Did  you  never  read  the  Abrahamic  covenant?" 
"Yes,  father,  and  I  don't  find  a  word  of  infant 
baptism  in  it."  . 

"Go  and  do  as  you  like." 

And  this  was  the  sum  of  argument  and  inform- 


14  KINCAID,  THE  HERO  MISSIONARY. 

ation  obtained  of  his  best  earthly  friends  on  this 
subject. 

Returning  to  his  school,  it  was  not  long  until  he 
had  an  opportunity  of  hearing  a  traveling  Baptist 
minister  preach  at  a  double  log  house  near  where 
he  was  teaching.  After  the  sermon,  supper  w&s 
prepared  and  the  young  teacher  invited  to  stay, 
which  afforded  him  an  opportunity  of  hearing 
views  entirely  new  to  him.  During  the  conversa- 
tion, in  which  young  Kincaid  sought  to  display 
his  scholarship,  he  was  twice  asked:  "And  are 
are  you  not  3^et  satisfied  on  the  subject  of  baptism?" 
An  answer  was  evaded  each  time,  when  the 
preacher  said: 

"Do  you  want  to  read  anything  further  on  the 
subject?" 

To  which  the  reply  was  made: 

"If  I  can  find  something  good  and  authorita- 
tive."      * 

The  preacher  took  from  his  saddle-pockets  a 
little  volume  and  laid  it  on  the  table  by  the  searcher 
after  truth,  who  looked  at  the  book,  then  at  the 
preacher,  again  at  the  book  to  assure  himself  that 
he  was  not  mistaken;  then,  looking  the  preacher 
full  in  the  face,  said: 


BIRTH — SCHOOL  DAYS — BAPTISM.  1 5 

'*Sir,  you  must  have  made  a  mistake;  this  is  only 
a  New  Testament." 

The  preacher  replied: 

"Young  man,  if  you  want  any  better  authority 
on  the  subject  of  baptism  than  that  given  by  the 
Holy  Ghost,  don't  come  to  me." 

After  passing  his  four-score  years.  Dr.  Kincaid 
would  relate  this  story  with  interest  and  delight, 
as  it  was  the  first  Baptist  service  he  had  ever 
attended,  and  said  he  would  just  as  soon  have 
thought  of  becoming  a  Shaking  Quaker  as  a  Bap- 
tist, whom  he  was  accustomed  to  hear  spoken  of 
as  a  narrow-minded,  bigoted  and  unlettered  people, 
without  influence  or  standing. 

But  one  thing  he  could  not  get  round.  The 
man  seemed  to  make  God's  word  supreme  author- 
ity, and  it  was  his  one  desire  to  have  a  scripture 
reason  for  all  he  did  or  believed. 

Learning  that  a  little  Baptist  colony  had  located 
just  beyond  the  settlements  in  western  New  York, 
after  his  school  had  closed  he  made  his  way  to  the 
home  of  the  settled  pastor  of  this  little  flock  in  the 
forest.  He  found  the  pastor  hoeing  among  the 
stumps  and  green  roots  preparatory  to  planting 
some  early  garden  seed.     He  asked  the  pastor  for 


l6  KINCAID,  THE  HERO  MISSIONARY. 

the  scripture  authority  for  infant  baptism,  and  was 
plainly  and  promptly  told  there  was  "no  scripture 
authority  for  it."  "Well,  I  want  to  talk  with 
you.  The  hoe  was  dropped,  we  went  into  the 
house  and  I  learned  more  theology  from  that  man 
in  one  hour  than  I  had  learned  in  all  my  life  up  to 
this  time. ' '  Becoming  thoroughly  convinced  what 
was  right  and  duty  in  the  premises,  young  Kincaid 
said:  "Well,  I  want  you  to  baptize  me."  The 
pastor  stepped  towards  the  door,  ,took  down  an 
old-fashioned  tin  bugle,  blew  it,  sat  down  and 
continued  the  conversation  without  stopping  to 
explain.  But  the  candidate  was  not  held  very 
long  in  suspense,  as  the  little  church  soon  came 
flocking  together  to  answer  the  i)Ugle-call  of  their 
leader.  They  heard  the  experience  of  the  candi- 
date and  he  was  approved  for  baptism.  But  never 
accustomed  to  such  procedure,  and  having  no 
settled  views  on  the  subject  of  baptism  when  he 
went  there,  had  not  provided  a  change  of  raiment. 
So  it  was  arranged  that  the  preacher  should  go  to 
the  town  where  Kincaid  was  studying  with  his 
former  Presbyterian  pastor,  preach,  and  administer 
the  ordinance  of  baptism.  This  programme  was 
carried  out,  and  Eugenio  Kincaid  was  baptized  at 


BIRTH — SCHOOL  DAYS — BAPTISM.  17 

the  age  of  eighteen  years  at  DeKalb,  New  York, 
following  the  first  baptist  sermon  ever  preached  in 
the  place. 

It  was  an  occasion  easily  remembered,  for  the 
additional  reason  that  his  former  pastor,  with  whom 
he  was  boarding  to  secure  the  use  of  his  Greek 
and  I^atin  text  books,  early  next  morning  denied 
him  further  use  of  his  library  or  any  further  help. 

The  work  of  the  previous  day  had  brought  to 
young  Kincaid  a  friend  in  the  person  of  a  physi- 
cian in  DeKalb.  To  him  the  young  convert 
turned  for  counsel,  and,  after  some  consultation,  it 
was  determined  that  young  Kincaid  should  go  one 
hundred  and  sixty  miles  north  to  Prof.  Daniel 
Haskell's,  who  had  under  his  instruction  at  that 
time  Jonathan  Wade.  Young  Kincaid  made  his 
parents  a  short  visit  and,  on  the  ninth  day  after 
his  baptism,  set  out  on  foot,  with  his  earthly  pos- 
sessions tied  up  in  a  handkerchief  and  twenty-five 
cents  in  his  pocket,  to  make  the  best  use  of  the 
powers  of  his  whole  being  for  God  and  the  world's 
salvation.  He  chopped  wood  to  pay  for  his  lodg- 
ing and  meals  on  the  way,  and  arrived  at  his 
destination  without  any  reverses,  in  good  health 
and  fine  spirits.     But  was  quite  a  little  crestfallen 


1 8  KINCAID,  THE  HERO  MISSIONARY. 

on  asking  Prof.  Haskell  for  the  privilege  of  study- 
ing under  him  and  paying  his  way  in  work,  to  find 
all  such  demands  were  met  in  the  person  of  Jona- 
than Wade,  now  on  the  ground.  But  when  he 
related  how  he  had  been  advised  by  the  kind 
physician,  the  day  following  his  baptism,  to  make 
this  journey,  and  was  denied  further  use  of  such 
books  as  were  needed.  Prof.  Haskell's  large  heart 
responded:  "My  boy,  1  will  take  you,  and  we  will 
do  the  best  we  can."  So  Eugenio  Kincaid  became 
the  second  student  under  Prof.  Haskell,  and  grad- 
uated with  the  first  class  from  the  Theological 
Seminary  at  Hamilton,  N.  Y. 

During  his  course  of  study  at  Hamilton  the 
spirit  that  led  him  to  cry  out  on  the  morning  after 
his  baptism,  "Lord,  what  wilt  thou  have  me  to 
do?"  ripened  into  deeper  convictions  of  duty  to 
the  heathen,  so  that  he  was  ready  at  once  to  offer 
himself  to  the  Baptist  Board  of  Missions,  request- 
ing an  appointment  to  Burma.  But  the  time  had 
not  fully  come,  and  wisely  he  followed  the  guiding 
hand  of  providence  to  mission  work  in  the  fields 
at  home,  until  the  wider  door  should  open. 

He  was  ordained  at  Westmoreland  during  his 
course  of  study,  and  supplied  the  church. there  for  a 


BIRTH SCHOOL  DAYS BAPTISM.  1 9 

time,  but  cfesiring  a  wider  field  he  first  accepted 
the  pastorate  of  the  First  Church  at  Galway,  N.  Y., 
where  the  people  became  much  attached  to  him 
during  the  three  years  of  a  very  successful  pastor- 
ate. Pleasantly  situated  as  he  was  with  a  people 
who  loved  him,  he  longed  to  work  in  the  waste 
places,  so  in  1826  he  made  an  exploring  tour  in 
the  valley  of  the  Susqehanna,  and  finding  great 
destitution,  the  field  was  more  in  keeping  with  his 
longings  of  soul,  and  his  pleasant  pastorate  was 
readily  given  up  for  this,  to  him,  most  inviting 
field  this  side  of  Burma. 

''At  this  time  there  were  not  more  than  two  or 
three  Baptists  in  all  that  region;  and  when  calling 
at  the  house  of  one  of  these,  he  introduced  him- 
self as  a  Baptist  minister,  the  old  man  was  quite 
overcome,  and  without  making  any  reply,  in  an 
audible  voice  thanked  God  for  this  long-desired 
blessing.  Stated  preaching  was  commenced  at 
Milton,  Union  county,  and  in  less  than  six  months 
time  a  church  was  organized  with  nine  members. 

Here  in  Milton  was  headquarters,  but  his  field 
of  labor  was  in  the  valley — in  the  villages  and 
homes  destitute  of  gospel  privileges.  At  Warriors 
Run  a  minister  of  another  denomination  warned 


20  KINCAID,  THE  HERO  MISSIONARY. 

the  people  not  to  hear  that  young  "Baptist 
preacher, "  for  "  Baptist  sentiments  were  the  worst 
of  heresies,  for  once  they  entered  a  place  they 
could  never  be  rooted  out." 

Aside  from  preaching.  The  Literary  and  Evan^ 
gelical  Register^  a  monthly  magazine,  was  edited 
and  published  at  Milton  for  a  year. 

In  1828  an  appointment  was  tendered  young 
Kincaid  by  the  Board  of  the  General  Association 
of  Pennsylvania,  as  its  missionary  to  travel  and 
preach  in  several  of  the  central  counties  of  the 
State.  His  efforts  from  the  very  beginning  were 
crowned  with  success.  The  secretary  says:  "In 
concluding  our  report  we  wish  to  express  our  high 
sense  of  the  valuable  services  rendered  by  our 
Brother  Kincaid,  in  whose  resignation  the  Associ- 
tion  sustains  a  great  loss.  As  a  pioneer  we  know 
not  his  equal." 

In  the  four  years  of  service  for  the  General 
Association  of  Pennsylvania  he  traveled  more  than 
20,000  miles,  exploring  the  State  and  preaching 
in  its  most  destitute  places;  often  he  went  where 
no  messenger  had  gone  before  with  the  glad 
tidings  of  peace. 


BIRTH — SCHOOL  DAYS — BAPTISM.  21 

The  night  before  leaving  for  India  he  wrote  to 
the  Board  as  follows: 

"The  deep  interest  I  have  felt  in  the  advance- 
ment of  the  cause  in  Pennsylvania  can  never  be 
erased  from  my  mind.  My  happiness  has  been 
identified  with  the  prosperity  of  the  mission  cause 
in  that  State,  and  though  I  may  never  visit  it 
again,  the  recollections  of  past  years  will  ever  be 
present  with  me.  In  mind  I  shall  often  visit  those 
mountains  and  valleys  where  I  have  so  frequently 
preached  the  things  concerning  the  Kingdom  of 
God." 

Now  the  wisdom  of  God  seems  plain  in  binding 
so  closely  the  hearts  of  the  people  at  home  to  one 
so  worthy  and  so  able  to  represent  them  and  their 
Master  abroad.  I  feel  that  I  should  do  him  an 
injustice  to  keep  back  from'the  reader  some  of  the 
hardships  of  his  school  life,  as  well  as  fail  to 
encourage  many  a  poor  boy  in  school  who  may 
think  his  lot  a  hard  one  while  pinched  with 
poverty  in  the  school  course. 

Aside  from  earning  all  to  pay  his  way  through 
school — at  that  time  letters  were  not  prepaid  as 
now,  but  were  sent  to  be  paid  for  on  delivery,  and 
instead  of  the  cheap  postage  of  this  age,  the  post- 


22  KING  AID,  THE  HERO  MISSIONARY. 

age  on  a  single  letter  was  twenty-five  cents. 
Young  Kincaid's  mother  was  one  of  the  kindest 
of  women,  and  as  other  mothers  loved  most  ten- 
derly her  first-born;  and  while  she  may  not  have 
endorsed  fully  his  change  of  views  and  church 
relations,  she  nevertheless  was  faithful  in  her 
prayers  for  him  and  correspondence  with  him.  He 
was  among  strangers,  and  most  naturally  would 
appreciate  a  kind  letter  from  home.  The  letter 
was  there  in  the  post  office,  and  it  was  from 
mother,  but  the  postmaster  dare  not  deliver  the 
letter  without  his  twenty-five  cents.  The  closest 
search  reveals  not  a  penny  in  the  schoolboy's 
purse,  and  still  worse,  no  chance  to  earn  postage 
money  until  after  the  close  of  the  school  term, 
which  was,  in  more  than  one  instance,  a  whole 
quarter.  So  that  the  letters  from  his  mother  were 
sometimes  more  than  three  months  old  when  read, 
although  but  one  hundred  and  sixty  miles  from 
home. 

With  our  prepaid  daily   mail   service  and  free 
delivery  system,  with  the  possibility  of  sandwich- 
ing in  between  mails  a  telegram,  we  do  not  stop* 
to  think  how  far  we  are  removed  from  the  per- 
plexing delays,    inconveniences    and    expense  of 


BIRTH — SCHOOLDAYS — BAPTISM.  23 

communication     when     young     Kincaid     was     a 
schoolboy. 

These  letters  from  his  mother  were  kept  and  so 
fondly  cherished,  that  he  regarded  their  destruc- 
tion the  most  bitter  experience  of  his  missionary 
life.  At  the  outbreak  of  a  war  between  England 
and  Burma,  Dr.  Kincaid  and  his  family  took 
refuge  on  an  English  merchant  vessel,  and  his 
embarcation  took  place  so  suddenly  that  the  table 
was  left  standing  on  the  floor  with  dinner  well-nigh 
ready  to  be  eaten.  After  an  absence  of  about 
three  years  he  returned  and  found  the  cherished 
letters  from  his  mother  and  a  considerable  portion 
of  his  library  worked  up  into  cartridges;  and  while 
the  English  government  made  an  exception  in  his 
case  and  paid  him  for  his  books  destroyed,  the 
letters  were  an  irreparable  loss,  that  could  only  be 
mourned  without  remedy. 

Before  further  notice  of  the  labors  of  our  zealous 
and  devoted  young  Christian  brother,  let  us  look, 
in  the  next  chapter,  at  some  of  the  elements  and 
traits  of  character  in  his  make-up. 


CHAPTER  II. 

ELEMENTS   OF   CHARACTER. 

"Every  work  that  he  begun  ...   he  did  it  with  all  his 
heart  and  prospered." — 2d  Chron.,  xxxi-21. 

For  nobler  purpose  was  he  born 

Than  statesman,  lord  or  king. 
To  stamp  his  impiess  on  the  world, 

To  God  much  people  bring. 
No  granite  shaft  could  ever  tell 

How  deep  his  soul  did  move, 
'Till  broke  at  last  the  magic  spell 

That  held  back  Jesus'  love; 
And  millions  once  in  heathen  night 

God's  love' began  to  know — 
To  live  in  peace  with  joy  and  light, 

And  on  to  glory  go. 

"Many  men  seem  to  have  no  individuality,  even 
though  enjoying  what  is  called  reputation.  They 
are  wholly  wanting  in  what  constitutes  a  distinct 
character.  Neither  their  mental  nor  their  moral 
attributes  are  marked  by  anything  that  can  be 
regarded  as  permanent,  and  but  for  a  certain  'vain 
show^  they  would  pass  through  life  scarcely  chal- 
lenging recognition.  There  are  others,  however, 
endowed  with  such  gifts  that  it  matters  not  where 


ELEMENTS  OF  CHARACTER.  25 

they  may  be  placed   their  presence  and  influence 
are  seen  and  felt. 

Nor  is  it  difficult  to  discern  the  qualities  which 
generally  give  to  individuals  position  and  power. 

In  all  such  cases  it  will  be  found  that  the 
constituent  elements  of  the  mind  are  such  as  to 
impart  a  decided  character  to  all  they  say  and  do, 
and  by  the  confidence  with  which  they  speak  their 
sentiments,  and  the  boldness  with  which  they 
execute  their  plans  they  speedily  establish  a  title 
to  pre-eminence  even  among  illustrious  asso- 
ciates. ' ' 

''These  natural  traits  have  been  strikingly 
exhibited  in  the  life  and  labors  of  Mr.  Kincaid, 
and  to  their  possession  must  be  traced  one  of  the 
chief  causes  of  his  astonishing  success." 

To  exhibit  these  traits  is  a  difficult  "task,  in 
referring  to  a  character  so  marked  by  Christian 
and  manly  virtues,  however,  nothing,  of  course, 
will  be  expected  beyond  a  brief  outline  of  the 
chief  qualities  for  which  he  became  so  widely  dis- 
tinguished." 

"The  intellectual  endowments  of  Mr.  Kincaid, 
though  not  of  the  first  or  highest  order,  were 
unquestionably    far    above    mediocrity,    and     the 


26  KINCAID,  THE  HERO  MLSSIONARY. 

depth  and  breadth  of  their  development,  under 
the  circumstances"  that  surrounded  him  afford 
proof  of  their  native  scope  and  vigor.  With  con- 
templative mind,  discriminating  in  its  movements, 
his  mental  processes  were  concluded  with  great 
rapidity  and  accuracy. 

Hence,  notwithstanding  the  time  given  to  active 
labors,  he  was  astonishingly  successful  in  acquir- 
ing a  very  large  fund  of  general  knowledge.  Besides 
enjoying  a  liberal  education  in  his  appropriate 
sphere,  few  men  were  more  familiar  than  he  with 
the  current  history  of  the  world,  whether  in  poli- 
tics or  religion,  and  the  habits  of  his  earlier  life 
of  reading  and  storing  his  mind  were  kept  up  until 
the  very  last  year  of  his  long  and  useful  life. 

Th«  wonderful  resources  possessed  within  him- 
self "in  his  good  sense,  quick  sagacity,  gener- 
ous sensibility  and  fertile  imagination  were  no  less 
valuable  in  his  declining  years  than  during  his 
more  active  life. 

"These  powers  appeared  to  great  advantage  on 
the  platform  when  under  excitement,  induced  by 
crowded  audiences,  he  was  portraying  the  thrill- 
ing scenes  connected  with  his  labors  in  Burma,  or 
when,  with  strong  argument  and  melting  pathos, 


ELEMENTS  OF  CHARACTER.  27 

he  was  heard  pleading  with  the  churches  in  behalf 
of  the  perishing  heathen." 

''At  such  times,  a  whole  assembly  has  been  not 
only  suffused  with  tears,  but  so  thrilled  by  his 
graphic  sketches,  or  so  overwhelmed  by  his  impet- 
uous appeals  that  the  feelings  of  many  have  found 
utterance  in  involuntary,  half-suppressed  ejacula- 
tions. ' ' 

The  physical  organization  of  Mr.  Kincaid  was 
scarcely  less  remarkable  than  his  mental  develop- 
ments, and  doubtless  contributed  much  towards 
making  up  all  the  other  elements  of  his  manhood. 
In  person  he  was  about  medium  height,  firmly 
though  not  stoutly  built,  a  remarkable  combina- 
tion of  nervous  and  muscular  energy.  As  the 
natural  result  of  such  a  formation  constituting  the 
basis  of  an  active  temperament,  on  all  occas- 
sions  he  exhibited  great  powers  of  endurance, 
while  with  a  constitution  less  vigorous  he  could 
never  have  survived  the  toils  and  perils  through 
which  he  passed. 

"The  action  of  strong  character  demands  some- 
thing firm  in  its  natural  basis,  just  as  massive 
engines  require  solid  bearings  from  which  to 
work." 


28  KINCAID,  THE  HERO  MISSIONARY. 

"This  constitutional  firmness  may  at  least  be 
regarded  as  an  essential  condition  to  physical 
courage. ' ' 

And  among  the  many  qualities  requisite  to  the 
position  of  "Foreign  Missionary"  this  in  his  time 
was  one  of  very  great  importance. 

"In  the  prosecution  of  his  work"  he  was  often 
thrown  into  surroundings  where  timidity  and 
irresolution  would  have  been  ruin.  "He  there- 
fore needed,  in  an  eminent  degree,  power  to  meet 
emergencies  and  courage  to  surmount  danger," 

The  possession  of  this  quality  gives  the  posses- 
sor "full  use  of  his  faculties  for  the  prudent  and 
prompt  adoption  of  means  to  ends,  and  is  one  of 
the  rarest  and  most  important  of  human  endow- 
ments." 

Indeed,  without  a  measure  of  such  courage  one 
can  scarcely  hope  to  succeed  in  any  important 
undertaking  because,  as  Foster  said, — "In  almost 
all  plans  of  great  enterprise,  a  man  must  system- 
atically dismiss  at  the  entrance  every  wish  to 
stipulate  with  his  destiny  for  safety."  "He  vol- 
untarily treads  within  the  precincts  of  danger;  and 
though  it  be  possible  he  may  escape,  he  ought  to 
be   prepared   with  the  fortitude  of  a  self-devoted 


ELEMENTS  OF  CHARACTER.  29 

victim."  "This  is  the  inevitable  condition  on 
which  heroes,  travelers,  or  missionaries  among 
savage  nations,  and  reformers  on  a  grand  scale 
must  commence  their  careers." 

''This  dauntless  spirit,  which  is  demanded  in 
entering  upon  a  great  and  hazardous  enterprise,  is 
not  less  essential  to  its  successful  prosecution. 
Here  we  discover  one  of  the  strongest  elements, 
perhaps,  in  Mr.  Kincaid's  character;  for  while 
quick  to  perceive,  and  bold  to  plan,  he  was  at  the 
same  time  persevering  and  confident  in  execution. 
He  furnished  a  remarkable  illustration  of  a  strenu- 
ous will,  accompanying  the  conclusions  of  thought 
constantly  inciting  the  utmost  efforts  to  bring 
about  practical  results. 

"It  mattered  not  how  formidable  the  difficulties, 
or  how  persistent  the  opposition  which  sought  to 
defeat  his  plans,  so  inflexible  was  the  temper  of 
his  mind,  and  so  indomitable  his  courage,  that 
such  circumstances  only  increased  the  intensity  of 
his  soul,  and  with  a  feeling  bordering  onto  impu- 
nity, he  seemed  almost  to  make  his  way  through 
impossibilities,  and  reached  at  last  the  full  execu- 
tion, of  his  purposes. 

"Closely  allied  with  this  trait  of  character  was 


30  KINCAID,  THE  HERO  MISSIONARY. 

that  of  independence.  I^et  it  cost  what  it  might, 
he  would  be  honest  to  the  convictions  of  his  own 
mind,  and  without  stopping  to  consider  what  he 
might  lose  or  what  he  might  gain  by  any  particu- 
lar course  of  action,  his  single  inquiry  was.  What 
is  right?  and  having  satisfied  his  conscience  on 
this  point,  without  the  slightest  regard  for  man's 
frown  or  favor  he  did  what  he  conscientiously 
believed  to  be  proper  and  right. ' ' 

' '  The  rule  of  his  life  was  to  act,  so  far  as  possi- 
ble, from  convictions  superior  to  his  own  passions; 
and  being  governed  by  views  of  duty  too  deep  and 
strong  to  yield  to  those  influences  which  too  often 
lead  men  to  act  in  a  way  which  their  better  judg- 
ments would  forbid,  his  course  in  some  instances 
may  have  seemed  indiscreet,  savoring,  perchance, 
of  harshness  and  arrogance. ' ' 

"Frankly  independent  in  his  opinions,  however, 
and  not  without  what  would  be  called  strong  preju- 
dices—  no  uncommon  feature  of  powerful  minds 
—  Mr.  Kincaid  was  never  the  man  to  play  the 
sycophant,  nor  under  any  circumstances  to  feign 
iiimself  what  he  was  not,  and  a  more  perfectly 
out-spoken  and  transparent  soul"  is  seldom  if  ever 
met  than  he  was. 


ELEMENTS  OF  CHARACTER.  3 1 

"In  truth,  'my  love  doth  so  approve  him  that 
even  his  stubbornness,  his  checks,  and  his  frowns 
had  grace  and  favor  in  them. ' 

"If  anything  was  needed  to  temper  this  inde- 
pendence and  guard  it  against  abuse,"  it  was 
found  in  his  devotion  to  the  Master's  cause. 

' '  He  possessed  to  an  eminent  degree  the  spirit 
of  him  'who  pleased  not  himself  but  said  My 
meat  and  drink  is  to  do  the  will  of  him  who  sent 
me  and  to  finish  his  work. ' ' 

He  gave  himself  without  reserve  to  the  Master's 
work  relinquishing  all  else  that  was  dear  to  him 
and  in  a  spirit  of  true  self  denial,  brought  into 
captivity  every  passion  of  his  soul  to  the  obedience 
of  Christ. 

"Having  fully  surrendered  himself  he  was  con- 
tent to  derive  all  his  happiness  in  ceaseless  toil  for 
the  glory  of  God  and  the  salvation  of  men. ' ' 

Hence  while  his  natural  courage  supported  him 
amid  dangers,  oppositions  and  perils  were  not  able 
to  disturb  his  self  reliance.  This  feeling  of  his 
soul  caused  him  to  look  to  a  higher  object  and 
enabled  him  to  say  with  the  apostle:  "Neither 
count  I  my  life  dear  unto  myself,  so  that  I  might 
finish  my  coiirse  with  joy,  and  the  ministry  which 


32  KINCAID,  THE  HKRO  MISSIONARY. 

I  received  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  to  testify  the  gospel 
of  the  grace  of  God." 

The  spirit  of  his  devotion  was  the  answer  to  the 
prayer  of  the  poet: 

Give  me  a  heart,  O  God,  to  love, 

And  seek  the  good  of  souls, 
Both  rich,  and  poor,  of  every  land 

Betv^'een  the  distant  poles. 

A  holy  zeal,  O  Lord,  to  grasp 

And  shelter  at  my  side 
The  meanest  outcast  of  the  race 

For  whom  my  Savior  died. 

A  heart,  dear  Savior,  that  shall  love 

The  rich,  the  proud,  the  vain. 
And  zeal  to  plead,  with  all  to  seek 

Life  through  a  Savior  slain. 

A  heart,  O  God,  to  love  all  men 
Whom  Thou  hast  loved  so  well, 

And  .strength  to  plead  as  Thou  didst  plead 
To  save  a  world  from  Hell. 

Give  heart,  to  love,  and  toil  and  pray, 
And  thank  Thee  for  Thy  grace  ; 

Faith  to  believe,  Thou  wilt  redeem, 
And  save  our  ruined  race. 

'*The  secret  of  his  power  and  success  is  trace- 
♦  able  to  his  wonderful  faith  in  God's  purpose  to  use 
him,  and  the  abiding  presence  of  the  Holy  Spirit 
with  him." 

Says  a  gifted  writer  —  'The  man  of   faith  is  a 
decided  character,  the  instinct  of  his  reason  is  a 


ELEMENTS  OF  CHARACTER.  33 

strong  will,  from  a  strong  motive.'  He  commits 
his  ways  to  God  and  says  '  I  will  walk  worthy  of 
my  vocation.  I  will  be  a  loyal  child  of  God. 
The  Almighty  allows  and  grants  what  such  a 
mind  wishes.' 

"A  man  without  a  determined,  final  faith,  an 
undoubting  trust  in  the  true  God,  is  but  as  a  dry 
leaf  on  the  wings  of  the  wind,  carried  about  by 
impulses  unresisted  and  unavoidable.  As  the  leaf 
cannot  take  root,  and  rests  but  to  rot,  so  the  faith- 
less man  has  no  living  power  in  him  to  draw  vigor 
and  beauty  from  the  elements. 

There  is  no  settled  hope  without  faith  —  no 
going  forth  of  the  prophetic  and  realizing  soul 
into  the  undiscovered  depths  of  space;  searching 
for  new  evidences  and  the  deeper  love  of  an 
Omniscient  Father,  without  whose  notice,  not 
a  sparrow  falls  to  the  ground. 

Mr.  Kincaid  exemplified  a  wonderful  and  most 
precious  faith  in  his  life  to  its  very  close.  And  we 
deem  it  fitting  to  close  this  chapter  in  the  well 
chosen  words  of  Mrs.  Luther,  who  says  of  him, 
"Dear,  noble  old  man,  hero  of  a  hundred  fights, 
his  courage  never  failed  him,  whether  facing  the 
robbers  in   northern   Burma,   or  the  governor  at 


34  KINCAID,  THE  HERO  MISSIONARY. 

Rangoon  with  his  infuriated  soldiery,  or  the  ter- 
rors of  the  ecclesiastical  council  at  Maulmain. 
Right  was  right  and  duty  was  duty,  and  his  voice 
was  always  heard  on  the  side  of  right." 


CHAPTER  HI. 

THE  FOREIGN  MISSIONARY. 

"Go  ye  into  all  the  world,  and  preach  the  gospel  to  every 
ci-eature." — Mark  xvi,  ij. 

Send  with  Thy  word,  O  God,  in  hand, 
And  hearts  all  filled  with  richest  grace, 

Those  who  may  preach  in  every  land 
Salvation  to  our  ruined  race. 

O  help  them  bear  Thy  name  unheard 
To  millions  wrapped  in  darkest  night, 

And  lead  the  errmg  through  Thy  word. 
To  Christ,  the  way,  the  life,  the  light. 

Yes,  send,  O  God,  by  whom  Thou  wilt, 

Just  so  salvation's  message  fly, 
To  save  through  blood  of  Jesus  spilt. 

Those  who  if  left  alone  must  die. 

"The  field  in  which  Mr.  Kincaid  had  for  several 
years  been  laboring  as  Home  Missionary,  and 
from  which  abundant  harvests  had  been  gathered, 
was  still  full  of  promise,  and  on  every  hand  he  saw 
most  cheering  evidences  of  the  divine  blessing  on 
his  labors. "  But  he  heard  the  call  of  the  Master  so 
distinctly  that  his  heart  responded  most  cheerfully. 
In  the  language  of  another: 


36  KINCAID,  THE  HERO  MISSIONARY. 

Lord,  in  this  hour  of  urgent  need, 

Send  me  to  some  dark  field, 
To  sow  broadcast  the  precious  seed 

That  golden  fruit  may  yield. 

Though  thorns  infest  the  rocky  soil, 

They  are  not  plants  of  Thine  ; 
There  help  me,  Lord,  with  ceaseless  toil 

To  sow  Thy  truth  divine. 

Send  Thou  the  dew,  the  heat,  the  rain, 

To  make  each  barren  field 
No  longer  be  a  fruitless  plain. 

But  ripened  harvests  yield. 

Though  long  I  wait,  no  increase  see, 

Lord,  help  me  still  to  sow, 
And  leave  the  increase  all  to  Thee, 

For  Thou  canst  make  it  grow. 

And  shall  some  other  reap  the  grain, 

No  difference  shall  it  make. 
Since  Thou  must  share  each  toil  and  pain, 

I  suffer  for  Thy  sake. 

Many  were  content  to  labor  at  home,  with 
friends  and  comforts  on  every  hand,  while  but  few 
had  convictions  of  duty  to  the  heathen,  whose 
needs  so  weighed  upon  him  that  he  could  most 
cheerfully  trust  the  little  churches,  fruit  of  his 
first  toil,  and  the  promising  valley  of  the  Susque- 
hanna to  the  Great  Shepherd's  care,  while  his  zeal 
for  the  divine  glory  and  his  love  for  the  lost  fixed 
more  firmly  his  purpose  of  preaching  the  gospel 
to  the  perishing  millions  of  Burma. 


THE  FOREIGN  MISSIONARY.  37 

"At  length  the  way  opened"  and  Mr.  Kincaid 
together  with  Mr.  Mason  and  their  wives  were 
publicly  set  apart  to  their  responsible  work  on  the 
evening  of  May  23d,  1830,  at  the  Baldwin  Place 
church  in  the  presence  of  a  crowded  audience,  Kin- 
caid preaching  from  2nd  Corinthians  xiii,  11, 
*' Finally  brethren  farewell.  Be  perfect,  be  of 
good  comfort,  be  of  one  mind,  live  in  peace;  and 
the  God  of  love  and  peace  shall  be  with  you." 

"It  was  an  affectionate  valedictory,  indicating  a 
mind  tenderly  alive  to  the  best  interests  of  men; 
and  giving  proof  that  while  he  looked  with  earnest 
desire  to  benefit  distant  nations,  he  cherished  a  deep 
solicitude  for  the  spiritual  welfare  of  those  from 
whom  he  was  soon  to  be  separated. "  "At  the  close 
of  the  sermon.  Dr.  Bolles,  in  behalf  of  the  Board, 
delivered  an  impressive  charge,  alluding  in  appro- 
priate terms  to  the  extensive  field  of  their  labor, 
the  difficulties  to  be  encountered,  the  zeal  requisite 
to  the  work,  the  self-denial  which  such  service 
demanded,  and  the  pleasing  encouragements  pre- 
sented of  ample  reward  here,  and  of  an  eternal 
reward  hereafter,  as  the  result  of  their  toils." 
"Then,  with  the  aspect  and  style  of  fraternal  and 
Christian  affection  for  which  he  was  so  remark- 


38  KINCAID,  THE  HERO  MISSIONARY. 

able,"  "Rev.  Mr.  Knowles  presented  to  them 
the  hand  of  fellowship,  accompanying  the  act  with 
cheering  words  and  pledging  to  them  the  fervent 
prayers  of  the  churches  for  their  safety  and  ulti- 
mate success."  "On  the  following  morning  at  5 
o'clock,  just  previous  to  the  time  of  sailing,  a 
prayer-meeting  was  held  at  the  First  Baptist  meet- 
ing-house, where  a  large  assembly  met  to  unite  in 
seeking  the  presence  and  blessing  of  the  Lord  to 
accompany  his  servants  across  the  bosom  of  the 
deep  and  in  the  land  of  the  heathen." 

"At  the  close  of  this  meeting,  sorrowing,  yet 
rejoicing.  Dr.  Kincaid  took  a  final  and  affectionate 
leave  of  his  brethren,  adverting  briefly  to  the  deep 
sensibility  "Which  parting  with  Christian  friends 
excited,  but  declaring  that  he  felt  unspeakably 
happy  in  prospect  of  so  soon  entering  upon  labors 
connected  with  the  diffusion  of  the  knowledge  of 
the  Savior  among  those  who  were  sitting  in  the 
region  and  shadow  of  death. ' ' 

"Mrs.  Kincaid  then  spoke  in  a  very  tender, 
touching  manner  of  how  she  had  sighed  for  an 
opportunity  of  instructing  the  Burmese  women 
and  how  she  rejoiced  at  the  prospect  of  soon  realiz- 
ing her  hopes,   and  in  behalf  of  Mrs.  Mason  pro- 


THE  FOREIGN  MISSIONARY.  39 

fessed  a  readiness,  heartily  to  co-operate  with  their 
husbands  in  missionary  labors." 

"After  prayer  by  Rev.  Mr.  Choules,  the  assem- 
bly with  the  missionaries  repaired  to  the  ship  and 
on  the  wharf  united  in  singing" — 

"  Ye  messengers  of  Christ, 
His  sovereign  voice  obey  ; 
Arise  !  and  follow  where  He  leads, 
And  peace  attend  your  way. 

The  Master  whom  ye  serve, 

Will  needful  strength  bestow  ; 
Depending  on  His  promised  aid. 

With  sacred  courage  go. 

Mountains  shall  sink  to  plains. 

And  hell  in  vain  oppose  ; 
The  cause  is  God's  and  must  prevail. 

In  spite  of  all  His  foes. 

Go,  spread  a  Savior's  fame  ; 

And  tell  His  matchless  grace. 
To  the  most  guilty  and  depraved, 

Of  Adam's  num'rous  race. 

We  wish  you  in  His  name, 

The  most  divine  success  ; 
Assur'd  that  He  who  sends  you  forth 
Will  your  endeavors  bless." 

"Dr.  Bolles,  the  corresponding  secretary,  then 
led  in  devout  supplication  to  heaven  for  a  prosper- 
ous voyage,  that  the  winds  and  the  waves  might 
be  propitious,  and  the  seamen  participate  in  the 
blessings  of  the  gospel,  after  which  mutual  saluta- 


40  KINCAID,   THE  HERO  MISSIONARY. 

tions  were  exchanged,  and  the  missionaries 
embarked  on  board  the  Martha^  Capt.  Lovett,  for 
Calcutta." 

"As  the  vessel  left  its  moorings,  a  solemn  still- 
ness prevailed  among  the  crowd  of  spectators, 
broken  only  by  the  smothered  sobs  of  those  who 
wept  over  the  separation,  and  every  heart  sent  up 
a  silent,  earnest  prayer  to  that  gracious  and 
Almighty  Being,  who  holds  the  winds  'by  His 
might'  and  the  ocean  in  the 'hollow  of  His  hand, 
that  he  would  not  only  waft  them  safely  over  the 
deep,  but  give  them  an  open  and  effectual  door 
among  the  heathen,  and  crown,  with  abundant 
success,  all  their  efforts  to  shed  over  Burma  the 
saving  light  of  truth. 

Soon  the  vessel  began  to  fade  in  the  distance, 
and  when  straining  eyes  could  no  longer  recognize 
the  features  of  those  on  board,  slowly  they  left  the 
dock  and  returned  to  their  several  homes. 

What  the  feelings  of  the  departing  missionaries 
were,  may  easily  be  imagined,  though  they  have 
never  been  written.  The  ship  was  soon  plunging 
her  bows  into  the  white-crested  billows,  and  when 
the  last  dim  outline  of  their  native  land  dis- 
appeared   from    view,    O    with    what    sadness   of 


THE  FOREIGN  MISSIONARY.  4 1 

heart  did  they  retire  to  their  lonely  cabin  !  Now, 
as  never  before,  they  began  to  realize  their  situa- 
tion. They  had  renounced  the  comforts  and 
privileges  of  a  refined  and  Christian  land  to  dwell 
among  rude  heathen. 

Every  tender  tie  known  to  earth  had  been  sun- 
dered, and  having  parted  with  fond  parents,  with 
loved  brothers  and  sisters,  and  with  happy  circles 
of  sympathizing  Christian  friends,  they  now  felt, 
more  keenly,  the  sundering  of  those  endearing 
associations,  stronger  than  iron  bands,  the  break- 
ing of  which  well  nigh  sank  their  spirits  within 
them." 

In  like  circumstances  Mrs.  Judson  wrote  in  her 
Journal : 

"Still  my  heart  bleeds.  O  America  !  my  native 
land  !  Must  I  leave  thee?  Must  1  leave  my  par- 
ents, my  sister  and  brother,  my  friends  beloved, 
and  all  the  scenes  of  my  early  youth;  *  *  where 
I  learned  the  endearments  of  friendship  and  tasted 
all  the  happiness  this  world  can  afford;  where  I 
learned  also  to  value  a  Savior's  blood  and  count 
all  things  but  loss  in  comparison  with  the  knowl- 
edge of  Him !  Yes,  I  must  leave  you  all,  for  a 
heathen  land  and  an  uncongenial   clime.     Fare- 


42  KINCAID,  THE  HERO  MISSIONARY. 

well,  happy,  happy  scenes,  but  never,  no  never,  to 
be  forgotten." 

"It  was  in  that  hour  of  conflict  with  nature 
that  the  missionaries  bowed  together  in  prayer, 
looked  alone  to  God  for  strength  and  were  com- 
forted." 

They  prayed  for  strength  all  storms  to  l>iave. 

And  that  salvation  like  a  wave, 
Should  cover  all  the  land  of  night 

As  does  the  sun  with  warmth  and  light. 

That  God  should  nearer  to  them  be 

In  home  and  work  across  the  sea, 
Enfold  them  in  His  arms  of  power 

And  shield  them  in  each  trying  hour. 

That  when  the  race  of  life  is  run 

And  sinks  the  soul  like  setting  sun, 
They  like  the  sun  at  break  of  day 

May  each  the  love  of  God  display. 

By  coming  robed  in  spotless  white, 

-Where  rich,  resplendent  love  and  light 
Flow  out  to  fill  the  vaulted  skies, 
Where  praises  evermore  shall  rise. 

Till  like  the  mighty  thunder's  roar, 

Heaven  is  moved  from  shore  to  shore, 
So  mighty  is  the  praise  we'll  sing 

To  Jesus  Christ,  our  Lord  and  King. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

ENTERING   ONTO    HIS    LIFE    WORK. 

In  safety  Dr.  Kincaid  reached  Calcutta,  Septem- 
ber 30,  1830,  from  whence  he  embarked  to  Maulmain, 
arriving  there  Sunday  morning,  November  28th, 
and  wrote  : 

"We  gazed  upon  the  scenery  around  us  with 
feelings  not  easily  described."  x\s  the  rays  of  the 
sinking  sun,  mellowed  with  the  twilight  and  "the 
dark  field  spread  out  before  us,  with  its  mountains 
and  plains  and,  rivers  and  vales,  and  its  mighty 
population  enveloped  in  a  moral  gloom  that  cast 
dark  shadows  over  this  portion  of  the  globe,  we 
felt  more  than  ever  for  the  missionaries  who  had 
toiled  and  suffered  on  these  shores,  and  we  had 
enlarged  views  of  the  work  before  us."  Dear 
reader,  how  we  should  praise  God  for  the  change 
that  has  exceeded  the  conception  of  Dr.  Kincaid 
as  he  thought  of  the  work  of  Christ  in  Burma. 
He  said,  "Paganism  will  yield  to  the  power  of 
the  gospel  of  the  Son  of  God,  who  shall  make  the 
desert  to  blossom  as  the  rose. 


44  KINCAID,  THE  HERO    MISSIONARY. 

At  this  time  there  were  two  churches  in  Bur- 
ma, with  fierce  opposition  on  the  part  of  the 
priesthood.  But  Dr.  Kincaid  began  at  once  the 
study  of  the  language,  preaching  at  the  same  time 
to  the  British  soldiers  of  the  Forty-fifth  regiment, 
who  provided  a  commodious  house  of  worship. 

"On  the  assemblies  convened  in  this  chapel  God, 
in  a  signal  manner,  poured  out  his  spirit.  Converts 
were  multiplied  and  the  church  grew  strong. 

Of  this  wonderful  work  of  grace  Dr.  Kincaid 
wrote :  ' '  Many  a  giant  that  defied  the  armies  of 
the  living  God  has  fallen ;  not  to  perish,  but  to  be 
raised  to  life  everlasting."  This  was  indeed  a 
time  of  refreshing  from  the  presence  of  the  Lord 
with  constant  ingathering  of  souls.  "Many  who 
came  to  scoff  went  away  agonizing  under  the 
awakening  influence  of  the  Holy  Spirit." 

As  one  result  of  this  revival,  about  one  hundred 
souls  were  baptized  into  the  little  church. 

In  March,  Dr.  Kincaid,  accompanied  by  Mr. 
Wade,  made  a  tour  of  two  hundred  or  three  hun- 
dred miles  up  the  Martiban  river,  visiting  the 
Karens,  who  were  quite  numerous,  and  they  were 
permitted  to  baptize  nine  persons.  On  returning, 
he  wrote : 


ENTERING  THE  FIEI.D.  45 

"During  our  absence  we  have  seen  much  of  the 
goodness  of  God,  and  have  had  increasing  evidence 
that  the  Lord  has  much  people  in  idolatrous  Burma 
to  be  called  out  of  darkness  into  the  glorious  light 
of  the  gospel.  Surely  the  fields  are  white  for  the 
harvest,  and  the  urgency  of  preaching  the  gospel 
to  the  heathen  gathers  force  at  every  step  we  take. 
How  delightful  and  encouraging  to  see  poor,  blind 
heathen  recovering  the  light  of  life." 

At  that  time  little  was  known  of  the  Karens,  a 
numerous  and  interesting  people  in  the  Burman 
Empire.  They  were  found  to  be  milder  mannered 
and  more  industrious  than  the  Burmans,  exceed- 
ingly superstitious  and  without  fixed  religious 
principles. 

They  were  wholly  ignorant  of  the  use  of  medi- 
cine, and  supposed  the  missionaries  possessed  of 
skill  superior  to  the  Nats,  the  source  to  which  they 
attributed  all  evils  that  befell  them.  They  brought 
their  sick  to  the  missionary,  and  were  delighted 
with  the  results  of  the  medicine  given.  And  the 
work  was  rapidly  opening  to  the  gleaner's  hand, 
when  clouds  of  sorrow  began  to  arise  indicative  of 
new  and  sorer  trials  than  hitherto  had  crossed  the 
path  of  Dr.    Kincaid.      His  wife,    who   had    been 


46  KINCAID,   THE  HKRO  MISSIONARY. 

Studying  the  language  and  managing  a  school,  was 
attacked  by  a  disease  peculiar  to  the  climate,  and 
which  so  reduced  her  strength  that  all  hopes  of  her 
recovery  soon  fled.  Their  boy,  born  November 
loth,  only  tarried  until  December  8th,  and  quit 
his  stay  on  earth  for  realms  of  glory,  whither  the 
freed  spirit  of  his  mother  followed  eleven  days 
later.  Dr.  Kincaid's  own  words  may  best  describe 
the  depth  of  this  double  bereavement,  and  how 
God  was  with  him  through  it  all. 

"It  becomes  my  painful  duty  to  give  a  detailed 
account  of  the  most  afflicting  events  of  my  whole 
life.  Hitherto  I  have  been  a  stranger  to  sorrow  — 
the  cup  of  affliction  has  been  dealt  out  to  me  with 
a  sparing  hand.  My  family  was  dearer  to  me  than 
my  own  life,  and  a  residence  on  this  side  the  waste 
of  waters,  far  from  kindred  and  friends,  has  served 
to  endear  them  an  hundred  fold  ;  separated  as  we 
were  from  the  land  of  our  fathers,  and  surrounded 
by  thousands  of  poor  ignorant  heathen,  our  own 
humble  home  became  a  world  of  itself;  together 
we  wept  and  prayed  around  the  family  altar,  and 
together  labored  for  the  acquisition  of  that  language 
by  which  we  might  communicate  the  glorious  gospel 
to  the  millions  of  Burma."      "But  now  I  am  left 


ENTERING  THE  FIELD.  47 

to  make  my  way  alone  on  these  heathen  shores." 
The  companion  and  wife  of  his  youth  had  fol- 
lowed her  babe,   and  was  done  with  earthly  toil 
and  care. 

Alone  now,  he  must  weep  and  pray.  Her  prayers 
and  weeping  forevermore  were  ended.  Dear  reader, 
if  you  do  not  know  what  it  is,  as  you  may  learn 
what  it  means  to  see  the  cold,  damp  death-sweat 
gathering  on  affection's  fairest  brow,  and  the  eyes 
set,  the  lips  stilled,  think  of  the  servant  of  God, 
thousands  of  miles  from  his  native  home  and  loved 
ones,  "watching  all  that  was  lovely  in  life  fading 
and  withering  under  the  influence  of  a  deadly 
disease.  "Tears  of  unavailing  sorrow"  may  fall 
but  they  give  little  comfort  to  the  stricken  and 
lonely  heart.  "After  we  arrived  in  India  we  were 
blessed  with  excellent  health,  until  the  rainy 
season  began,  then  we  had  a  slight  attack  of  inter- 
mittent fever,  but  after  about  ten  days  it  left  me, 
without  taking  medicine.  Not  so  with  Mrs.  Kin- 
caid.  She  had  this  fever  at  intervals,  accompanied 
by  bowel  complaint,  both  of  which  were  relieved, 
only  to  be  followed  by  a  more  fatal  malady,  "pe- 
culiar to  the  climate  and  very  fatal  to  foreigners." 
"Our  little  babe  took  sick  on  the  5th,  and  con- 


48 

tinued  sinking  until  the  8th,  when  it  went  into 
convulsive  fits;  from  the  first  of  which  it  recovered, 
but  a  few  hours  later  went  into  a  second  one  and 
expired." 

"Mrs.  Kincaid  sat  in  a  chair  and  held  him  in  the 
last  fit,  notwithstanding  "I  begged  her  for  my  sake 
and  hers  not  to  exert  herself;  but  a  mother's  affec- 
tion prevailed  over  her  better  judgment.  However, 
when  she  saw  that  its  emancipated  spirit  had  taken 
its  upward  flight,  she  became  calm,  and  felt  so 
well  satisfied  that  it  was  all  for  the  best,  that  she 
often  told  me  that  she  had  hot  one  desire  that  her 
sweet  babe  should  be  restored  to  her  again.  This 
resignation  to  the  will  of  God  was  given  us  in 
mercy.  November  ist  I  had  laid  aside  my  books, 
stopping  all  work,  "except  to  preach  in  English, 
and  made  it  my  whole  business,  night  and  day,  to 
administer  to  her  wants. "  "  Lord' s  day,  December 
1 8th,  I  perceived  that  the  disease  was  rapidly 
approaching  a  fatal  crisis.  "After  considerable  con- 
versation I  told  her  it  was  time  for  meeting,  and 
that  I  had  one  person  to  baptize  ;  she  said  '  very 
well,  but  you  will  return  as  soon  as  possible.'  I 
was  back  before  twelve  o'clock,  and  we  had  as  much 
conversation  as  her  strength  would  permit.    '  'After 


ENTERING  THE  FIELD.  49 

preaching  again  in  the  evening,  on  the  subject," 
'For  our  light  afflictions  which  are  but  for  a 
moment,'  etc.  "We  both  felt  that  this  probably 
would  be  the  last  evening  we  should  spend  together 
on  earth."  "I  told  her  that  this  separation  to  me 
was  awfully  painful,  but  I  perceived  it  to  be  the 
will  of  God."  She  said  her  hope  was  'in  Christ,' 
but  she  had  not  that  cheering  prospect  she  wished. 
Yet  she  felt  weaned  from  the  world,  and  could 
leave  her  family  in  the  hands  of  God."  Similar 
statements  were  made  at  intervals  until  11  o'clock 
in  the  evening,  when  "she  urged  me  to  lie  down 
a  little  time  and  rest.  At  one  o'clock  when  I  arose 
I  saw  she  was  fast  going  —  "gave  her  some  laven- 
der, which  revived  her,  and  she  fell  into  an  easy 
sleep  until  about  two  o'clock,  when  she  awoke  and 
said  to  me  with  a  clear  voice,  'I  am  now  dying,' 
and,  raising  her  eyes,  continued  silent. "  "I  applied 
some  restoratives  to  her  temples,  but  soon  perceived 
the  cold,  clammy  sweat  of  death  gathering  on  her 
forehead.  After  a  little  time  a  heavenly  smile 
came  over  her  countenance,  and  more  of  the  divine 
presence  I  never  felt;"  "there  was  something 
friendly  in  the  approach  of  death,  and  with  pleasure 
I  could  have  unrobed  myself  and  descended  with 


50  KINCAID,  THE  HKRO  MISSIONARY. 

my  dear  companion  into  the  dark  valley.  Heaven 
seemed  to  be  just  at  hand,  and  the  glories  of  the 
eternal  world  rose  in  delightful  and  awful  majesty 
before  me. "  "  Never  before  did  I  feel  such  strength 
in  prayer  ;  never  before  such  entire  consecration  to 
the  will  of  God."  "I  stood  in  silent,  watchful 
attention  to  see  the  spirit  fling  its  last  look  on  the 
world  and  wing  its  way"  to  a  mansion  in  glory. 
"After  this  she  did  not  speak,  but  continued  look- 
ing upwards,  with  a  countenance  that  indicated 
that  she  had  caught  a  glimpse  of  brighter  visions 
of  eternity." 

"About  four  o'clock  in  the  morning,  December 
19th.  She  resigned  her  spirit  without  a  struggle 
or  groan.  When  I  saw  that  all  was  over  I  called  a 
Burman  female,  who  was  sleeping  in  an  adjoining 
room,  and  said  to  her  in  the  Burman  language,  the 
teacher  is  dead.  The  sound  awoke  little  Wade, 
and,  springing  from  his  bed,  he  cried  out  in  the 
most  heartrending  manner,  'Is  my  ma  dead?'  'Is 
my  ma  dead?'  and  for  a  time  was  inconsolable." 

"Few  children  of  his  age  ever  received  more 
instruction  frorft  a  parent.  During  the  last  six  or 
eight  months  his  dear  ma  had  labored  much  to  in- 
struct him  in  the  knowledge  of  religion,  and  often 


ENTERING  THE  FIEI.D.  5 1 

took  him  alone  and  prayed  for  him.  "Impressions 
were  here  made  on  his  mind  which  I  trust  were 
never  forgotten. " 

This  hasty  narrative  of  facts  will  enable  those 
whose  households  have  been  broken  into  by  death 
to  sympathize  even  now  with  him  who  now  is  in 
realms  of  glory  awaiting  the  redemption  of  that 
body  in  which  he  suifered  so  much  that,  reunited, 
the  triumph  may  be  complete. 

The  reader  will,  I  trust,  have  observed  in  this 
chapter  two  things  worthy  of  special  remembrance 
and  study.  While  perfectly  natural  for  Dr.  Kin- 
caid  to  love  his  new  home  a  hundred  fold  more 
because  of  its  surroundings,  and  to  love  his  com- 
panion more  dearly  than  his  own  life,  an  allwise 
God  and  loving  Father,  whom  they  had  gone  there 
together  to  serve,  permitted  death  to  come  in  and 
to  break  up  this  cherished  household,  that  had 
come  to  be  ^' a  world  in  itself ^  *  *  *  Called 
the  mother  and  child  away  to  Himself,  in  such 
manner  as  to  enable  our  bereaved  brother  to  trust 
God  more  implicitly,  and,  as  he  said,  have  more 
"strength  in  prayer  than  ever  before,"  and  to 
consecrate  himself  more  completely  and  entirely 
to  Christ  and  His  cause,  since  these  had  gone  to 
dwell  with  Him  forever,  who  purchased  them 
with  His  own  blood. 


CHAPTER  V. 

A    YEAR    IN    RANGOON — A  SECOND  MARRIAGE. 

"A  light  to  lighten  the  Gentiles." — Luke,  xi-j2. 

Spires  that  gleamed  in  the  brilliant  sun, 

So  charming  the  native  eye, 
Crumble  before  the  work  begun, 

And  in  broken  ruins  lie. 
The  Temple  of  God  now  sheds  its  light, 

And  drives  all  darkness  away. 
And  changes  the  shades  of  heathen  night 

For  bright,  effulgent,  gospel  day. 

In  1832,  while  successfully  conducting  the 
schools  at  Rangoon,  and  yet  unable  to  preach  in 
the  Burman  tongue,  Dr.  Kincaid  was  forced  to  the 
conclusion  that  preaching  the  gospel  must  be  relied 
upon  as  the  most  potent  power  man  can  wield  for 
the  salvation  of  his  race.  The  circulation  of 
Bibles,  tracts  and  religious  literature  are  all  im- 
portant factors,  but  preaching  the  gospel  to  every 
creature  is  fulfilling  the  great  commission — is  God's 
chosen  method  for  the  overthrow  of  error  and  the 
building  of  His  kingdom  among  men.  More  and 
more  was  he  convinced  that  the  gospel  conveyed 


WORK  IN  RANGOON.  53 

by  the  living  voice,  accompanied  by  the  Spirit's 
power,  was  the  means  of  heaven's  appointment  to 
which  man  might  look  for  success,  and  on  which 
God  would  show  His  smile  of  approval.  Every 
means  to  awaken  and  enlighten  the  conscience  was 
important.  But  in  portraying  the  power  of  Jesus' 
redeeming  love — largely  in  Jesus'  own  words  from 
the  living  voice  that  had  known  both  the  power  of 
sin  and  of  God's  redeeming  love — could  the  great- 
est success  be  hoped  for. 

After  a  stay  of  one  year  in  Rangoon,  Dr.  Kincaid 
went  to  Madras,  where  he  married  Miss  BsLxbavy 
McBain,  the  daughter  of  a  military  officer,  who 
shared  his  toils  and  sorrows,  and  stood  faithfully 
by  him  until  he  had  passed  his  four  score  and  five 
years,  and  answered  the  call  "come  up  higher." 

While  absent  the  schools  had  been  broken  up, 
and  those  left  in  charge  of  the  general  interest  of 
the  mission  seized,  fined  and  subjected  to  great 
cruelties  and  punishments. 

On  his  return  to  Rangoon  Dr.  Kincaid  boldly 
resumed  his  labors,  and  was  soon  visited  by  great 
numbers,  both  from  city  and  province,  especially 
during  the  great  annual  festival  of  Gaudama. 
Many  came  to  inquire  about  the  printing  press. 


54  KINCAID-,   THE  HERO  MISSIONARY. 

others  about  the  sciences,  while  many  seemed  more 
concerned  about  the  new  religion.  Some  came  as 
disputants,  seeking  to  entangle  the  new  teacher  in 
his  talk,  as  did  the  Pharisees  our  Savior.  One  of 
these  asked  on  one  occasion  : 

"Is  God  without  beginning  or  end,  and  is  he 
exempt  from  old  age  or  death?" 

"It  is  true." 

"And  where  is  God?" 

"  In  heaven." 

"Has  God  a  body?" 

'•He  is  a  spirit." 

"How  shall  we  know  this  when  we  cannot  see 
Him?" 

"Just  as  you  know  you  have  a  soul,  though  you 
cannot  see  the  soul  with  the  eyes  of  the  body." 

"After  death  shall  we  see  God?" 

"If  before  death  you  receive  divine  light." 

"What  is  it?" 

Then  several  passages  of  Scripture  were  cited 
and  read  to  him  in  the  hearing  of  the  many  who 
stood  by,  explaining  Christ's  mission  into  the 
world.  His  death  on  the  cross,  His  burial,  resurrec- 
tion, and  promise  of  eternal  life  to  all  who  believe 
on  His  name. 


WORK  IN  RANGOON.  55 

He  taught  them  that  divine  light  came  through 
a  belief  of  and  in  Christ,  and  by  the  aid  of  the 
Holy  Spirit,  who  reproves  the  world  of  sin  and 
leads  believers  into  all  truth.  To  such  is  given 
great  peace  of  mind,  their  darkness  gives  place  to 
light,  and  from  them  the  terrors  of  death  are  taken 
away,  so  that  they  may  sleep  as  sweetly  in  the 
promises  of  Jesus  as  the  babe  in  it's  mother's  arms. 

A  government  man  attempted  to  prove  that  all 
religions  were  alike,  but  after  an  earnest  effort  of 
about  thirty  minutes,  left  in  haste,  possibly  hoping 
that  the  crowd  would  follow  him,  but  instead  they 
looked  to  the  new  teacher  for  a  reply.  Dr.  Kincaid 
said  :  "That  man  has  many  words,  but  they  give 
no  light,"  and  he  taught  them  by  the  apt  figure  of 
genuine  and  counterfeit  coin  that  there  was  a  true^ 
living  and  eternal  God,  and  that  there  are  false  gods. 
The  true  God  gave  just  and  good  laws,  while  from 
false  gods  might  issue  many  laws  which,  if  observed, 
would  never  better  the  observer's  condition.  The 
law  of  any  false  god  is  of  no  force.  It  may  be  so 
good  an  imitation  of  some  divine  precept  in  some 
particulars  as  to  seem  possessed  of  real  merit,  as 
the  dangerous  counterfeit,  but  when  put  to  the  test 
is  discovered  to  be  but  imitations,  without  standard 


56  KINCAID,   THE  HERO  MISSIONARY. 

value.  The  effort  to  lead  away  the  crowd  on  this 
occasion  was  futile,  and  gave  good  opportunity  to 
set  the  truth  in  clearer  light.  So,  often,  interfer- 
ence and  attempts  to  suppress  the  truth,  but  give  it 
zest  and  power. 

Sanilaus,  who  taught  Dr.  Kincaid  the  Burman 
language,  and  from  whom,  in  turn,  he  learned  of 
Christ,  the  mediator  between  the  Eternal  God  and 
men,  was  put  into  confinement  for  renouncing  his 
old  religion  and  acknowledging  belief  in  and  alle- 
giance to  the  true^  living  and  Eternal  God.  And 
as  he  was  a  man  of  great  ability  and  learning,  and 
about  to  die  in  his  confinement,  of  a  lingering  fever, 
some  high  ofificial  interceded  with  the  king  in  his 
behalf,  and  a  very  great  number  of  people  were 
called  together  and  Sanilaus  was  brought  forth, 
with  the  understanding  that  if  to  the  question  put 
to  him  by  the  king  in  the  presence  of  his  old  friends 
and  the  multitude  brought  to  bear  witness,  he 
should  only  incline  the  head  so  an  affirmative 
answer  might  be  inferred  from  him  by  the  people, 
he  should  be  released  and  go  free.  Did  he  nod 
assent  to  the  superiority  of  the  religion  of  Gaudama? 
No !  But  in  fetters  and  with  fever,  for  his  manly 
answer,  ''''I  believe  in  the  Eternal  God^''^  went  back 


WORK  IN  RANGOON.  57 

to  his  prison  bed  and  died.  This  single  act  con- 
firmed in  more  minds  that  there  was  real  worth  in 
the  new  religion  than  many  months  of  preaching 
by  the  missionaries  would  have  done. 

When  a  little  church  of  eight  members  had 
been  formed,  a  younger  brother  of  the  queen  was 
found  among  them,  and  to  prevent  his  attendance 
at  the  preaching  and  regular  services,  the  queen 
compelled  this  brother  to  attend  her  home,  and 
have  charge  of  the  elephant  that  conveyed  her  to 
the  pagoda  for  idol  worship.  After  sundown  he 
was  free,  and  often  found  his  teacher  to  pour  out 
his  griefs  and  get  courage  and  strength.  He  fre- 
quently joined  in  the  family  devotions ;  and  to 
*break  him  off  from  these  opportunities  and  the 
privileges  of  the  little  church,  his  sister  appointed 
him  governor  of  a  small  province  some  hundreds 
of  miles  distant.  For  a  time  this  seemed  more 
than  he  could  bear.  His  grief  at  being  separated 
from  the  white  teacher  and  the  little  church 
weighed  him  down  ;  but  when  assured  that  his 
brethren  would  pray  for  him,  and  that  God  could 
be  with  him  and  possibly  use  him  more  efficiently 
as  governor  than  in  any  other  way,  he  went  to  his 
position,  and  only  a  few  months  had  passed  when 


58  KINCAID,   THE  HERO  MISSIONARY. 

the  priests  complained  that  missionaries  had  invaded 
his  province,  teaching  new  and  strange  doctrines. 
How  wisely  Providence,  by  him,  opened  a  Wider 
door  for  the  missionaries  and  the  gospel  of  the  Son 
of  God  to  come  in  its  mighty  saving  power  to  all 
the  province. 

Moung-zoo-the,  a  young  man  of  promising  tal- 
ents and  for  some  time  an  inquirer,  desired 
ba.ptism  and  was  asked  ''Are  you  not  afraid  to  be 
baptized?" 

"I  have  been,  but  fear  is  gone  and  I  feel  strong 
now."      ''Perfect  love  casteth  out  fear." 

"But  suppose  you  are  seized,  put  into  prison 
and  beaten  with  a  bamboo;  will  you  be  strong 
then?"  * 

"I  cannot  deny  Christ." 

"But  suppose  they  kill  you?" 

"Let  them  kill ;  I  desire  to  follow  Christ." 

"Whosoever  will  save  his  life  shall  lose  it;  but 
whosoever  shall  lose  his  life  for  my  sake  and  the 
gospel's,  the  same  shall  save  it." 

Not  many  were  so  firm,  but  allowed  the  fear  of 
persecution  to  smother  their  convictions  and  deter 
them  from  the  duty  of  openly  acknowledging 
Christ;    and   many   attempted   to  serve  God    in   a 


WORK  IN  RANGOON.  59 

secret  way,  while  still  others  would  come  hun- 
dreds of  miles  to  learn  from  the  white  teacher 
about  the  eternal  God,  and  about  his  son  who  died 
for  all  men. 

When  light  broke  in  on  such  minds  often  they 
confessed  openly  and  followed  at  once  as  the  early 
disciples. 

Favored  with  such  indications  of  divine  help 
and  blessing,  his  heart  took  courage  and  when 
asked  by  a  Burman  official  how  long  he  intended 
to  stay  in  Burma,  he  might  be  in  a  measure 
excused  for  saying,  "Until  all  Burma  worships 
the  eternal  God." 

He  saw,  despite  the  opposition  in  high  places, 
the  fields  whitening  to  the  reaper's  hand,  con- 
verts grew  firmer,  inquirers  more  determined,  the 
leavening  influence  of  gospel  power  widening  on 
every  hand.  These  gave  him  enlarged  views  of 
the  work  before  him. 

His  faith  grew  stronger  in  the  God  of  missions 
and  in  the  final  overthrow  of  idolatry  in  India  and 
the  universal  reign  of  Christ  in  all  the  world. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

FROM    RANGOON    TO    AVA. 

'•  Blessed  are  ye  that  sow  beside  all  waters."  — A^.  xxxii,  20. 

Repeated  inquiries  from  friends  as  to  why  Dr. 
Kincaid  did  not  locate  at  the  capital  brought  to 
his  mind  the  advantages  of  that  city.  It  afforded 
opportunities  offered  at  no  other  city  in  the  empire. 

To  avail  himself  of  these  opportunities  and  put 
himself  in  a  position  to  do  the  very  most  possible 
good  for  the  cause  of  Christ  in  Burma,  Dr.  Kin- 
caid, with  his  wife  and  her  sister,  both  English 
ladies;  Ko  Shoon'  and  Ko  San-lone,  two  native 
preachers,  with  several  other  Burmans,  embarked 
for  Ava  on  a  Burman  boat,  April  sixth,  1833. 

The  parting  at  the  riverside  with  the  native 
Christians  was  tender  and  very  affecting,  revealing 
the  strength  of  the  bonds  that  bound  them  together. 

The  first  event  of  interest  on  their  way  was  the 
springing  of  a  leak  in  their  boat  and  its  repair 
after  several  hours  of  unceasing  and  hard  work. 
The  next  event  worthy  of  special  mention  was  an 


FROM  RANGOON  TO  AVA.  6 1 

attack  b}^  one  of  the  numerous  bands  of  robbers 
that  infested  almost  every  river  village.  The 
attack  was  sudden  and  determined  and  tried  the 
nerves  of  the  men,  all  of  whom  fled  but  six, 
against  whom,  with  Dr.  Kincaid  at  their  head,  the 
robbers  were  rushing  rapidly,  when  a  "large  Bur- 
man  boat  hove  in  sight."  This,  together  with 
Dr.  Kincaid' s  dauntless  courage,  drove  the  rob- 
bers back  in  the  direction  from  which  they  came. 
But  little  thought  was  given  to  this  close  call  as 
they  found  opportunities  of  spreading  the  gospel 
of  peace  and  life  among  these  rude  people,  and 
beholding  cheering  evidenc.es  that  some  seed  found 
lodgement,  and  in  time  would  yield  fruit. 

'* Almost  every  day  witnessed  some  token  of 
the  divine  favor  and  blessing,  for  which  they  gave 
thanks  and  took  courage. 

In  the  city  of  Thir-a-wan  many  said,  we  want 
to  hear  more  of  this  religion;  if  it  is  true  that 
there  is  a  God  who  is  free  from  old  age,  sickness 
and  death,  he  must  be  the  most  excellent.  Five 
men  declared  their  convictions  of  the  truth,  and 
determined  thorough  examination. 

While  Dr.  Kincaid  was  preaching  at  a  village 
beyond,    a  woman   who   was   listening  cried   out: 


62  KINCAID,  THE  HERO  MISSIONARY. 

' '  This  God  is  the  True  God  I  This  doctrine  is  the 
divine  communication  !  She  stated  in  private  con- 
versation afterward  that  as  soon  as  she  heard^  the 
truth  shined  upon  her  mind,  she  "saw  instantly 
that  all  her  life  she  had  been  stupid  by  worship- 
ping what  was  no  God." 

They  found  opposition  to  the  distribution  of 
books  and  tracts  from  the  chief  secretary  of  Mey- 
an-Oung,  until  he  heard  some  passages  read,  then 
he  declared  that  "these  books  teach  the  true 
God^^^  and  was  not  satisfied  until  he  had  a  copy  of 
each  kind  for  himself;  and  would  not  allow  the 
missionaries  to  depart  u,ntil  they  had  eaten  a  meal 
prepared  for  them. 

Another  government  man  directed  all  his  men  to 
ask  for  books  and  read  about  the  eternal  God. 
He  frankly  admitted  his  doubts  about  Gaudama's 
religion,  and  that  these  doubts  had  been  increased 
by  hearing  two  or  three  great  men  in  Ava  declare 
their  convictions  of  the  genuineness  of  the  new 
religion,  and  that  it  would  spread.  He  gave  evi- 
dence of  sincerity  and  a  desire  to  receive  the 
gospel. 

At  Poung-day,  a  city  near  the  size  of  Rangoon, 
Dr.  Kincaid  was  invited  to  the  house  of  the  great 


FROM  RANGOON  TO  AVA.  63 

Toung-diven,  teacher,  the  head  of  the  most  power- 
ful dissenting  sect  in  Burma.  On  arrival  Dr. 
Kincaid  found  a  venerable  old  man,  with  about 
forty  others,  assembled  to  hear  the  conversation. 

When  asked,  ' '  Have  you  read  the  word  of  God  ?' ' 
the  venerable  man  replied  :  "I  read  about  a  year 
ago  one  small  book  that  reasoned  about  the  Eternal 
God  and  Gaudama." 

"What  do  you  think?" 

"I  have  remained  careless. ' ' 

"You  are,  then,  indifferent  as  to  whether  you 
are  right  or  wrong,  and  I  need  say  nothing  to  you." 

During  a  conversation  of  some  length  which 
followed,  the  old  man  expressed  anxiety  to  know 
why  we  went  to  so  much  trouble,  amid  exposure 
and  reproach,  and  danger,  to  publish  this  new 
religion  among  strangers  who  cared  nothing  for 
them.  Jesus,  who  died  for  all  7nen^  sends  his  her- 
alds into  all  the  world  to  preach  the  gospel  of 
peace.  They  are  to  go  alike  among  all  nations — 
where  prosperity  may  smile  or  adversity  frown 
— amid  darkness  and  danger,  or  sunlight  and  peace, 
and  lead  lives  of  self-denial  and  faith,  that  as  the 
moon  throws  back  its  borrowed  light  upon  the 
earth,  God's  ambassadors  should  throw  back  upon 


64  KING  AID,  THE  HERO  MISSIONARY. 

the  people  of  earth  the  light  of  the  Son  of  Right- 
eousness. So  the  missionaries  but  do  their  duty 
in  leading  lives  of  self-denial  to  save  the  Burmans 
from  hell.  The  old  teacher's  interest  was  such 
that  he  followed  Dr.  Kincaid  to  the  boat  to  hear 
and  get  books. 

At  the  town  of  Sheret,  while  distributing  tracts, 
an  interesting  young  man  made  his  way  through 
the  crowd  that  lined  the  shores,  and  asked  for  a 
copy  of  "St.  John's  History  of  Christ  and  the  Acts 
of  the  Apostles."  When  asked  if  he  had  read 
these  books  he  said:  "Yes  ;  Teacher  Judson  gave 
them  to  me  in  Prome,  and  in  the  burning  of  the 
city  the  books  were  lost."  When  he  had  received 
the  books  asked  for  and  four  tracts,  he  disappeared, 
and  we  moved  our  boat  about  two  miles  further  up 
town  to  shield  us  from  the  wind,  and  while  we 
thought  of  the  young  man,  we  did  not  expect  to 
see  him  any  more,  but  at  nightfall  he  returned  to 
the  boat  and  reported  another  believer  in  Christ  in 
the  city  who  wanted  to  see  the  teacher  and  get 
books. 

Dr.  Kincaid  followed  the  young  man,  and  was 
almost  overjoyed  at  finding  a  venerable  old  man, 
full  of  faith  and  hope  in  Christ,  though  his  only 


FROM  RANGOON  TO  AVA.  65 

teacher  was  the  gospel  of  John  and  the  Holy  Spirit. 
For  two  years  he  had  loved  the  Savior,  and  his 
language  attested  a  heart  acquaintance  with  Jesus. 
How  encouraging  to  spend  a  few  hours  in  a  great 
idolatrous  city  and  nation  with  two  such  promising 
disciples.  They  were  firm  and  outspoken  in  their 
expressions  of  love  for  and  admiration  of  Jesus. 

One  man  about  forty  years  old,  some  months 
before,  had  read  a  small  book,  which  he  said  made 
known  to  him  the  true  and  living  God.  At  first 
he  was  careless,  but  afterwards  was  so  moved  that 
he  feared  to  worship  idols  any  more,  but  did  not 
know  how  to  worship  the  Eternal  God.  Dr.  Kin- 
caid  gave  him  all  the  Epistles,  and  told  him  they 
were  the  words  of  the  Most  High  God,  and  that  he 
must  believe  in  Christ  and  pray  for  divine  light. 

After  traveling  about  fifty-four  days,  and  visiting 
about  three  hundred  cities  and  villages,  in  most  of 
which  they  had  scattered  books  and  tracts,  and  had 
preached  the  gospel,  their  perilous  voyage  was 
ended,  and  they  slept  without  the  walls  of  Ava  for 
the  night  of  May  30th. 

The  friends  of  missions  in  two  hemispheres  had 
looked  with  mingled  anxiety  and  fear  for  the  com- 
pletion of  this  voyage. 


66  KINCAID,  THE  HERO  MISSIONARY. 

And  to-day  I  distinctly  remember  hearing  Dr. 
Kincaid  relate,  after  he  had  passed  his  four-score 
years,  the  anxiety  of  that  night  under  the  shadow 
of  the  wall  of  that  great,  wicked  city.  How  he 
wrestled  and  prayed  almost  the  entire  night,  and 
how  peace,  and  comfort  and  courage  came  about 
/bur  o^  clock  in  the  morning,  and  peaceful  and  re- 
freshing slumber  came  to  fit  him  for  his  first  day's 
work  in  the  great  capital  city  of  the  Burman 
empire. 

How  eventful  that  June  morning  that  started 
Dr.  Kincaid  and  his  two  native  assistants  into  the 
great  city  to  turn  its  idolatrous  people  from  the 
worship  of  idols  to  the  worship  of  the  true  and 
living  God, 

He  went  from  group  to  group,  from  place  to 
place,  until  he  had  gone  between  three  and  four 
miles  along  one  side  oif  a  street,  and  turning,  he 
retraced  his  way  on  the  other  side  of  the  street, 
everywhere  talking  of  Jesus  as  redeemer  and  medi- 
ator between  man  and  the  great  Eternal  God. 

Most  all  heard  cautiously,  a  few  with  marked 
attention,  but  the  great  masses  from  curiosity,  and 
I  presume  now  and  then  an  old  man,  an  official  who 
remembered  the  days  and  possibly  the  untold  suf- 


FROM  RANGOON  TO  AVA.  67 

ferings    of   Dr.   Judson.     Prejudice  and  opposition 
both  began  to  show  themselves  at  once. 

The  remembrance  of  those  cruelties  to  Dr.  Jud- 
son, the  dense  population  of  the  city,  the  activity 
among  officials  about  the  king's  court  and  in  mili- 
tary circles,  all  tended  to  excite  a  deeper  anxiety 
in  the  mind  of  Dr.  Kincaid  as  he  stood  alone  view- 
ing the  field  his  heart  longed  to  see  redeemed  from 
darkness  and  death  to  the  light  and  liberty  of  the 
gospel,  and  made  loyal  to  the  Lord  Jesus. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

OPPOSITION    AT   THE    CAPITAL. 

The  mighty  arms  of  God's  love 
Were  underneath,  around,  above. 
To  shield,  to  comfort  and  uphold, 
While  He  the  gospel  should  unfold, 
To  those  in  depths  of  Pagan  night  ; 
Who  sought  in  vain  that  life  and  light 
Through  idol  gods  of  wood  and  stone 
That  comes  through  Jesus  Christ  alone. 

The  solicitude  felt  in  the  two  hemispheres  about 
Dr.  Kincaid's  reception  and  safety  at  the  capital 
gave  place  to  experiences  and  knowledge  of  strong 
opposition  and  persecution.  And  he  was  called 
upon  for  the  exercise  of  all  that  courage  and  per- 
severance that  so  distinguished  him  in  after  years. 
Less  courage  and  indomitable  will  power  and  per- 
severance might  have  turned  away  or  fled  before 
the  opposition  at  Ava.  There  were  many  inviting 
and  promising  fields  where  the  opposition  would 
have  been  less  formidable,  and  the  immediate  sur- 
roundings more  promising,  but  from  the  capital 
messages  of  Jesus  could  be  sent  into  every  province 
of  Burma. 


OPPOSITION  AT  THE  CAPITAL.  69 

Evidence  that  Dr.  Kincaid  should  have  no  royal 
welcome  in  the  capital  was  seen  in  the  efforts  of 
the  physician  to  the  king  to  dislodge  him  from  his 
dwelling  by  force. 

By  the  efforts  of  Ko  San-lone,  a  native  Christian, 
a  house  had  been  obtained  of  a  lady  of  nobility 
and  entered  without  a  government  permit  to  rent 
it.  After  a  residence  of  three  days  this  lady  died, 
and  the  house  fell  into  possession  of  the  royal 
doctor,  who  dispatched  a  messenger  at  once  to  the 
missionary  ordering  him  to  vacate  the  premises  at 
once.  The  next  day  the  royal  doctor  went  in  per- 
son, was  quite  uncivil  and  threatening  in  his 
manner,  but  after  a  time  seemed  disposed  to  reason, 
and  on  promise  that  another  house  would  be  pro- 
vided as  quick  as  possible,  seemed  to  go  away 
satisfied.  Eiforts  were  renewed  every  day  to  obtain 
a  government  permit  to  rent  another  house.  Four 
Woon-gees  composed  the  king's  first  council,  and 
four  Atwen-woons  his  second  council.  Some  one 
or  more  of  these  was  seen  every  day,  but  they 
excused  the  delay  every  time,  and  were  always 
prolific  with  promises. 

"Once  the  young  prince's  ears  must  be  bored, 
which  occupied  eight  or  nine  days."     The  Chinese 


70  KINGAID,   THE  HERO  MISSIONARY. 

Ambassadors  leaving  the  royal  court  took  up  about 
five  days.  Four  wild  elephants  were  to  be  caught, 
which  occupied  three  more  days.  Thus  it  went 
from  day  to  day. 

Until  one  morning  when  Dr.  Kincaid  called  on 
Moung-sa,  a  Woon-gee,  and  who  had  been  an  At- 
wen-woon  when  Dr.  Judson  first  went  to  Ava,  his 
manner  and  countenance  were  chajiged. 

Silently  the  servant  of  God  waited  to  hear  the 
worst  —  not  able  to  conjecture  the  cause  of  the  cold 
reception,  with  probable  thought  of  the  death 
prison  and  iron  fetters,  sufferings  and  tortures  of 
Dr.  Judson  and  wife  on  this  field  with  the  gospel, 
when  this  man  was  one  of  the  king's  second  council. 

The  Woon-gee  soon  broke  the  silence,  however, 
by  saying :  "The  king  is  pained  to  hear  that  in 
Rangoon,  and  in  all  the  cities  and  villages  along 
the  river,  you  have  given  books  and  preached  to 
the  people." 

"It  is  not  agreeable  to  the  king  to  have  a  new 
doctrine  spread  among  his  subjects.  He  has  given 
orders  that  the  English  and  American  doctrine 
spread  no  further." 

Dr.  Kincaid  replied  : 


OPPOSITION  AT  THE  CAPITAL.  7 1 

"I  am  a  teacher  of  religion.  Can  I  not  preach 
to  the  people?" 

"Yes,  but  you  must  not  give  books.  Why  do 
you  not  preach  to  the  Mussulmen  and  Catholics?" 

"I  came  to  Ava  to  preach  to  all  people  of  what- 
ever nation,  and  if  not  allowed  to  do  so,  shall 
leave  the  city  and  go  to  some  other  nation." 

This  nobleman  had  a  real  or  feigned  aversion  to 
foreigners,  which  at  times  he  took  little  pains  to 
conceal. 

As  stated  earlier,  the  royal  doctor,  on  parting 
with  Dr.  Kincaid,  seemed  willing  to  wait  until 
another  house  could  be  secured,  but  on  the  follow- 
ing day  he  sent  his  furniture,  with  an  order  to  put 
it  into  the  house. 

They  were  forbidden  to  do  this,  whereupon  the 
royal  doctor  soon  appeared,  with  about  twenty 
young  men,  to  ^ecute  his  order  to  put  his  furni- 
ture into  the  house  and  Dr.  Kincaid' s  into  the  street. 

All  attempts  at  reasoning  were  vain.  Two  young 
men  rushed  to  the  top  of  the  stairway  to  seize  Dr. 
Kincaid,  who  shoved  them  back  and  barred  the  door. 
In  the  afternoon  Ko  San-lone,  who  had  been  in 
search  of  a  house,  returned.      He  was  seized  and 


72  KINCAID,   THE  HERO  MISSIONARY. 

thrown  down  by  the  royal  doctor,  and  pounced 
upon  by  several  of  the  young  men. 

Dr.  Kincaid  could  not  hear  his  cries  and  endure 
such  cruelties  inflicted  on  his  faithful  servant.  He 
unbarred  the  door,  and,  with  a  large  cane  in  hand, 
rushed  out,  threatening  them.  Instantly  they  let 
go  Ko  San-lone  and,  with  pointed  bamboos  and 
Burman  spears,  rushed  upon  Dr.  Kincaid  like 
young  tigers.  Five  of  them  were  felled  to  the 
ground,  the  door  again  barred,  and  the  royal  doctor 
for  the  first  time  ready  to  reason.  Whereupon  the 
door  was  thrown  open,  and  the  royal  doctor  was  an 
invited  guest,  and  said  he  had  been  very  angry, 
had  behaved  badly,  and  begged  Dr.  Kincaid  to 
forget  it. 

The  British  resident,  hearing  these  facts,  caused 
the  royal  doctor  to  be  placed  in  stocks,  and  sent  a 
man  each  day  to  see  that  his  royalty  did  not  screen 
him  from  justice. 

Soon  Dr.  Kincaid  procured  another  house  near 
the  heart  of  the  city,  where  he  was  permitted  to 
see  the  same  earnest  spirit  of  inquiry  manifest  itself 
that  had  cheered  him  all  along  the  Ii*rawaddy. 

The  gospel  leaven  was  at  work,  and  the  smoth- 
ered flame   could  not  be   kept   down  long.     Too 


OPPOSITION  AT  THE  CAPITAL.  73 

many  had  felt  the  Spirit's  quickening  power. 
Resistance  and  threats  were  now  in  vain.  In 
defiance  of  the  proposition  to  hang  six  or  eight  of 
the  natives  about  the  veranda  of  Dr.  Kincaid's 
house  and  leave  them  there  until  their  bodies 
rotted  away,  to  deter  the  people  from  gathering 
there  to  hear  the  gospel,  hundreds  went  daily, 
among  them  many  government  men  and  high 
officials,  some,  perhaps,  as  spies,  others  as  Nico- 
demus,  to  inquire  by  night  after  the  truth. 

Having  begun  to  preach  the  gospel  there.  Dr. 
Kincaid  said  there  was  no  going  back  nor  working 
quietly  or  in  the  dark.  One  course  only  could  be 
pursued,  and  that  was  to  preach  Christ  to  all  classes 
and  leave  results  with  God.  Though  forbidden  to 
preach  or  disseminate  in  any  way  the  knowledge 
of  Jesus,  and  often  summoned  to  appear  before 
courts,  Dr.  Kincaid  was  conscious  of  the  increasing 
favor  of  the  gospel  with  the  multitudes,  and  its 
growing  power  on  those  who  embraced  it. 

On  the  22nd  of  March,  1834,  Dr.  Kincaid  was 
summoned  to  appear  before  the  High  Court  of  the 
empire.  When  he  reached  the  royal  court  one  of 
the  Woon-gees  sternly  demanded  of  Dr.  Kincaid 
why  he  had  come  to  the  royal  city.     His  answer 

6 


74  KINCAID,  THE  HERO  MISSIONARY. 

was    to    diffuse    abroad    the    knowledge   of  Jesus. 

"Dare  you  say  the  religion  of  the  king,  his 
princes  and  his  nobles  and  his  people  is  false?" 

"I  do  not  say  so,  but  in  my  own  country,  and 
in  all  the  world  before  the  knowledge  of  the  living 
God  appeared,  the  people  worshiped  idols,  and  the 
command  of  God  is  to  'Go  into  all  the  world  and 
preach '  this  religion. ' ' 

"Stop;  it  is  not  proper  to  say  so  much.  It  is  the 
wish  of  the  king,  his  ministers  and  myself  that 
you  preach  no  more." 

"If  you  send  us  away  the  whole  world  will  ridi- 
cule you.  Why,  my  lord,  are  you  afraid  of  two 
men?" 

"We  do  not  want  you  here.     Go  to  Rangoon." 

Much  conversation  similar  to  the  above  took 
place,  toward  the  close  of  which  he  was  more 
gentle  and  less  haughty,  but  utterly  refused  to 
reason. 

After  eight  months  Dr.  Kincaid  was  again  sum- 
moned before  the  high  court.  All  the  noblemen 
and  an  immense  throng  of  the  common  people 
were  gathered  at  the  great  court,  and  when  Dr. 
Kincaid  entered  the  room  the  great  Black  Book 
was  brought  out  and  chapter  after  chapter  read, 


OPPOSITION  AT  THE  CAPITAL.  75 

attempting  a  portrayal  of  Dr.  Kincaid's  character. 

It  was  penned  in  the  Black  Book  that  the  Ameri- 
can teacher  had  come  to  the  Golden  City,  had  stirred 
up  great  numbers  of  the  people  to  despise  the  gods 
and  religion  of  Burma  ;  disturbed  the  public  peace 
and  preached  a  law  they  could  not  approve.  No 
voice  was  heard  but  that  of  the  reader,  until  a 
passage  was  read  declaring,  "About  seven  months 
before  the  American .  teacher  had  promised 
neither  to  preach  nor  to  give  books  away  any  more, 
and  disregarding  this  promise,  he  had  given  books 
in  every  direction  and  gone  on  preaching. 

Dr.  Kincaid  could  not  be  silent  longer,  but  said : 
' '  I  never  heard  of  such  a  promise  before.  I  prom- 
ised to  give  no  more  of  the  Investigator,  and  the 
Woon-gees  gave  me  permission  to  preach  and  give 
the  sacred  scriptures. ' ' 

A  Woon-gee  angrily  said,  "We  know  nothing 
about  your  books.     You  promised  to  give  no  books. 

They  then  demanded  the  promise  that  he  would 
preach  no  more  nor  give  any  more  books  of  any 
kind. 

Dr.  Kincaid  replied  : 

' '  I  dare  not  promise. ' ' 

' '  You  must  promise, ' '  retorted  one  of  the  council. 


76  KING  AID,  THE  HERO  MISSIONARY. 

"I  cannot ;  I  dare  not  make  such  a  promise.  I 
fear  God  more  than  men  ;  and  if  you  cut  off  both 
my  arms  and  then  my  head,  I  cannot  make  such  a 
promise. ' ' 

"Remain  quiet  and  you  can  stay,"  said  one  of 
milder  manner. 

'  *  I  dare  not  remain  quiet.  I  came  here  to  preach, 
and  the  command  of  God  is  to  preach  in  all  the 
world." 

Furious  shouts  from  half  a  dozen  said,  "Send 
him  away  ;  he  is  not  fit  to  live  in  the  Empire." 

Dr.  Kincaid  then  appealed  to  the  queen's  brother, 
who  listened  respectfully  until  reference  was  made 
to  the  expense  of  renting  a  house.  This,  said  the 
prince,  shall  be  refunded  to  you. 

One  of  the  ministers  said  :  If  we  do  not  oppose 
you  we  shall  go  to  hell.    We  dare  not  listen  to  you. 

As  I  ponder  and  pen  these  trials  of  the  "Hero 
Missionary,"  more  and  more  can  I  see  the  wisdom 
of  God  in  refusing  me  work  on  a  foreign  field,  for 
years  the  most  ardent  wish  of  my  life.  There  is 
within  me  a  conscious  lack  of  that  grace  and  gril 
so  often  needed  in  the  moulding  period  of  the 
mission  churches  in  the  days  of  Judson,  Vinton 
and  Kincaid. 


OPPOSITION  AT  THE  CAPITAL.  77 

Knowing  Dr.  Kincaid  as  intimately  as  I  came  to 
know  him,  the  last  six  years  of  his  earthly  life,  it 
seems  plain  to  me  why  God  sent  him,  to  plant  and 
train  a  little  church  in  the  Golden  City  of  the 
Biirman  Empire. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

THE   GOSPEL   AT   AVA. 

"  Be  not  afraid,  but  speak  and  hold  not  thy  peace  ;  for 
I  am  with  thee,  and  no  man  shall  set  on  thee  to  hurt  thee  ; 
for  I  have  much  people  in  this  city." — Acts xviii,  g. 

What  reviving  news  we  hear, 
Words  of  comfort,  full  of  cheer, 

How  the  gospel  wins  the  day 
In  that  city  far  away. 

In  the  centre  of  that  land, 

Where  pagodas  thickly  stand, 
Jesus  now  is  sought  and  owned. 

Idols  too  are  there  dethroned, 

Jesus  doth  in  Ava  stay, 

O'er  the  Empire  gaining  sway, 
In  the  land  His  name  is  known 

As  King  all  nations  ought  to  own. 

The  labors  of  Dr.  Kincaid  at  Ava  were  attended 
with  a  variety  of  difiiculties  and  very  great 
anxiety.  He  had  scarcely  entered  the  field  until 
the  clearest  proofs  of  the  divine  favor  were  visible. 
Hundreds  resorted  to  his  house  to  learn  of  the 
great  salvation  of  the  Eternal  God,  and  within 
three  months  he  seemed  troubled  about  what  was 
usually  a  source  of  great  joy.      Multitudes  coming 


THE  GOSPEL  AT  AVA.  79 

and  almost  as  many  turning  away  without  relish 
for  divine  food  and  blessing. 

His  joy  was  mingled  with  grief  and  sorrow, 
grieved  that  better  methods  of  doing  the  masses 
good  were  not  at  his  disposal,  sorry  for  the  ignor- 
ance of  a  priest-ridden  people. 

Seed  was  taking  root  in  the  soil  of  earnest, 
inquiring  hearts,  divine  light  was  springing  up  in 
some  dark  places,  but  with  the  appearance  of  the 
dawn  of  spiritual  life  was  seen  also  the  buddings 
of  a  fierce  opposition,  both  from  the  priesthood 
and  the  government.  His  faith  in  God  was  strong, 
and  slowly  was  he  driven  to  the  conclusion  that 
the  government  would  lift  its  arm  against  the 
Christ  of  Calvary. 

Opposition  from  the  priesthood  was  expected 
and  Dr.  Kincaid  wrote,  "the  sooner  the  war 
begins,  the  sooner  will  Burma  be  saved."  He 
longed  to  see  the  flame  kindled  that  should  purify 
the  country  of  its  abominations  and  idolatry. 

Mrs.  Kincaid  lent  a  helping  hand  in  the  great 
and  arduous  work  by  her  instructions  in  the  school- 
room. And  they  had  not  toiled  long  together 
until  sheaves  began  to  ripen  to  the  gleaner's  hand. 

The   first   convert    baptized   was   a   woman   in 


8o  KINCAID,  THE  HERO  MISSIONARY. 

middle  life.  Her  conversion  was  evidently  sound. 
She  said,  it  takes  away  my  pride,  and  makes  me 
feel  like  a  little  child.  She  desired  baptism 
because  she  said,  "It  is  the  appointed  road  for 
those  who  worship  God." 

The  scene  of  her  baptism  is  described  as  one  of 
peculiar  beauty  and  interest. 

They  knelt  on  the  bank  of  the  Irrawaddy  and 
lifted  their  hearts  in  prayer  and  thanksgiving  for 
those  tokens  of  divine  favor  that  permitted  this 
gathering,  and  Mah  Nwa-Oo  was  buried  beneath 
the  wave  in  obedience  to  the  Savior's  will. 

How  holy  this  spot.  How  solemn  and  changed 
the  scene  to  anything  witnessed  there,  where  for 
ages  had  echoed  the  song  of  the  devotee.  How 
cheering  the  display  of  Jesus'  saving  power  and 
love,  where  the  walls  of  the  Golden  City  flung 
their  shadows  and  the  spire  of  the  royal  temple 
gleamed  over  their  heads,  as  at  that  rude  altar  of 
prayer  they  offered  to  Heaven's  King  the  first 
fruits  of  the  gospel  gathered  by  Dr.  Kincaid  at  the 
capital  of  the  Burman  Empire. 

Though  heathens  beheld  and  wondered,  while 
God  was  with  them  what  need  they  fear? 

' '  Be  not  afraid  of  those  that  kill  the  body,  and 


THE  GOSPEL  AT  AVA.  8 1 

after  that  have  no  more  that  they  can  do." — I^uke 
xii,  4.  Not  a  breath,  but  that  of  prayer,  and  the 
words  of  the  divine  commission.  Well  might  they 
take  courage  and  hope  for  better  days  in  Ava. 

And  God  allowed  not  that  hope  to  fail,  for  only 
a  few  days  later  they  gathered  at  the  river  again 
and  baptized  Moung  Kay,  who  only  four  months 
previous  had  been  acknowledged  one  of  the  most 
popular  preachers  of  Boodhism  in  the  royal  city. 
Moung  Kay  first  heard  the  gospel  from  Ko  San- 
lone,  one  of  the  native  assistants  of  Dr.  Kincaid. 

Ko  San-lone  found  Moung  Kay  explaining  the 
sacred  Pali  to  a  large  body  of  venerable  men,  and 
when  opportunity  offered,  asked  : 

"Have  you  heard  that  there  is  a  God  Eternal, 
Who  is  not  and  never  was  subject  to  any  of  the 
infirmities  of  men? 

"No." 

"There  is  such  a  God,  and  His  sacred  word  is  in 
Burma." 

With  what  power  these  words  fell  on  the  ears  of 
this  most  popular  preacher  of  Boodhism  in  the 
royal  city  may  be  partially  conceived  by  the  out- 
come. Ko  San-lone  explained  to  him  some  of  the 
leading  doctrines  and  designs  of  the  Christian  sys- 


82  KINCAID,  THE  HKRO  MISSIONARY. 

tern.  His  heart  was  pierced.  He  asked  for  a  book, 
and  on  the  fifth  day  afterward  threw  away  his  beads, 
forsook  the  pagodas,  refused  to  bow  to  idols,  and 
made  no  offerings  to  the  priests. 

Having  read  the  words  that  are  spirit  and  life 
and  the  power  of  God  unto  the  salvation  of  believ- 
ing souls,  he  was  drawn  by  the  power  of  the  Holy 
Spirit  to  behold  Christ,  the  mediator  between  God 
and  man.  He  made  a  close  personal  search  into 
his  own  inner  life,  examined  himself,  and  was 
enabled  to  see  things  as  never  before,  and  acknowl- 
edged the  possession  of  a  new  life  in  Christ — a  new 
heart — and  said,  "everything  is  new."  He  could 
scarcely  sleep  or  eat.  His  conversion  and  baptism 
created  no  small  stir  in  the  city,  and  marked  a  new 
era  in  Christian  missions  in  Ava. 

The  claims  of  Christianity  were  more  widely 
felt,  and  its  power  exemplified  in  the  few  disciples 
who  owned  Christ  as  their  King. 

Not  the  lowly  alone,  now,  but  men  of  distinction 
and  men  in  high  places  both  sought  and  found  the 
truth,  and  joyfully  testified  of  Christ's  saving 
power. 

Dr.  Kincaid,  by  request,  now  visited  the  Mekara 
Prince,  the  most  learned  man  in  all  Burma,  to  con- 


THE  GOSPEL  AT  AVA.  83 

verse  on  science  and  religion.  At  first  he  was  most 
attracted  by  scientific  subjects,  but  soon  he  was 
looking  after  the  excellency  of  the  knowledge  of 
Christ,  and  pronounced  the  Epistle  to  the  Romans 
"wonderful"  beyond  anything  he  had  ever  read. 

He  acknowledged  the  religion  of  Christ  to  be 
pure  and  holy — different  from  and  better  than  any 
other.  But  the  want  of  moral  courage  and  faith 
allowed  him  to  remain  where  he  was  so  far  as  a 
public  profession  was  concerned. 

Fear  and  a  spirit  of  cowardice  kept  many  from 
acting  out  the  convictions  of  their  hearts. 

While  Dr.  Kincaid  felt  no  doubt  about  the  ulti- 
mate triumph  of  the  cause  of  Christ  in  Burma,  he 
had  fierce  opposition  and  bitter  persecution  and 
trials  to  encounter.  Surely  none  could  rejoice 
more  than  he  at  every  advance  step  made  by  the 
gospel. 

The  feverish  and  threatening  attitude  of  the 
government  quickly  passed,  as  clouds  before  the 
summer  sun.  And  God  in  love  opened  a  wide  and 
eflfeetual  door  for  the  gospel  in  the  great  and  idol- 
atrous capital  of  Burma. 

By  the  close  of  the  first  year  a  little  church  had 
been   formed,   and    hundreds    and   thousands   had 


84  KINCAID,  THE  HERO  MISSIONARY. 

heard  the  gospel  of  Christ,  and  while  few,  compar- 
atively, renounced  the  superstitions  of  Guadama, 
many,  it  is  thought,  believed  and  silently  accepted 
the  gospel,  and  may  have  greeted  on  the  golden 
shore  at  his  approach,  him  who  braved  so  many 
dangers  and  offered  so  many  earnest  prayers  in 
behalf  of  benighted  Burma,  where  he  endured 
hardships  that  but  few  men  ever  have  been  enabled 
to  endure,  to  give  the  gospel  of  peace  to  the  priest- 
ridden  worshipers  of  false  gods  and  idols  made  of 
wood  and  stone,  the  workmanship  of  their  own 
hands. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

SOWING  SEED  BESIDE  FRESH  WATERS. 

"  To  pieach  the  gospel  in  the  regions  beyond,  and  not 
to  boast  in  another  man's  line  of  things  made  ready  to 
our  hands. — 2  Cor.  x:i6. 

The  man  of  God  his  message  bore 

To  those  who  never  heard  before, 

Of  Jesus  Christ,  God's  only  son. 

Who  for  the  lost  so  much  had  done  ; 

And  yet  was  willing  more  to  do, 

To  place  redemption  full  in  view 

Of  those  who  long  to  know  His  love,  / 

And  seek  through  Him  bright  homes  above. 

The  wild  beast's  lair  and  robber's  den 

Both  terrors  to  the  bravest  men 

Are  broken  up  and  check  no  more 

Salvation's  flow  on  Burma's  shore. 

While  Dr.  Kincaid  recognized  the  advantages  of 
Ava,  over  every  other  city  of  Burma,  for  dissemi- 
nating the  gospel,  and  struggled  hard  to  establish 
a  church  in  the  capital  that  should  live  forever,  he 
also  longed  to  explore  that  vast  portion  of  the  em- 
pire lying  north  of  Ava,  and  into  which  no  mis- 
sionary had  carried  the  gospel  of  peace. 

From  strangers  who  visited  the  capital  he  learned 
enough  to  impress  him  that  this  vast  portion  of 


86 

Burma  was  densely  populated,  rich  in  resources, 
and  under  the  transforming  power  of  the  gospel 
and  the  touch  of  civilization,  its  wastes  would  be 
covered  with  happy  Christian  homes,  whence 
streams  of  living  light  should  flow  and  chase  the 
darkness  of  pagan  night  into  the  eternal  past,  and 
the  song  of  happy  trusting  pilgrims  float  on  wind 
and  wave  from  side  to  side  and  end  to  end  of  this 
empire  of  spiritual  darkness. 

Moved  by  such  impulses.  Dr.  Kincaid  planned 
a  tour  of  exploration  designed  to  reach  to  the  very 
borders  of  China  and  the  frontiers  of  Assam. 

The  brethren  of  the  mission,  seeing  at  a  glance 
the  magnitude  and  importance  of  such  explorations 
as  were  contemplated,  approved  the  bold  endeavor. 
Only  a  little  time  was  needed  to  put  everything  in 
readiness  for  the  journey,  but  no  sooner  were  all 
things  ready  than  the  government  too  was  ready 
to  warn  Dr.  Kincaid  that  he  could  not  make  such  a 
tour  of  exploration.  "This  was  more,"  they  said, 
"than  any  foreigner  ought  reasonably  to  expect." 

Hastening  to  the  Thoot-dau,  he  found  the  spa- 
cious hall  crowded  with  hundreds  of  people,  and 
the  ministers  thronged  witji  business.  He  squeezed 
and  elbowed  his  way  through  the  mass  of  specta- 


SEED  SOWING.  87 

tors,  secretaries  and  petty  officials,  until  he  stood 
fairly  in  the  presence  of  the  lords  of  the  land,  with 
the  queen's  brother  at  their  head.      He  was  asked  : 

"What  does  the  American  teacher  want?" 

Having  planned  a  tour  to  Siam,  with  everything 
now  ready  for  the  journey,  to-day  a  message  from 
your  lordships  informs  me  you  oppose  my  going  by 
way  of  Bornea  and  Moyoung.  I  would  learn  the 
ground  of  your  opposition. 

"You  must  not  go.  We  cannot  consent  to  your 
going  through  our  northern  cities  and  giving  books 
to  the  people.     You  can  go  by  way  of  Bengal." 

"That  would  take  me  a  whole  year." 

Let  it  take  eight  years,  the  haughty  nobleman 
replied. 

' '  Being  a  religious  teacher,  I  should  be  allowed  to 
go  where  I  choose." 

"You  must  not  go,"  was  the  only  reply,  and  all 
efforts  to  learn  the  cause  of  their  strong  opposition 
availed  nothing. 

But  Dr.  Kincaid  was  not  the  man  to  be  baffled 
or  abandon  an  enterprise  of  such  importance  as 
this  to  the  cause  of  missions,  both  at  home  and  on 
the  field.  He  longed  to  sow  in  the  beautiful  valleys 
of  the  Irrawaddy  and  other  places  the  wonderful 


88  KINCAID,   THE  HERO  MISSIONARY. 

words  of  life,  that  others  coming  after,  might 
see  and  gather  the  harvest  that  should  ripen  to 
the  reaper's  hand. 

He  sought  an  interview  with  the  queen's  brother, 
from-whom  he  learned  that  the  ministers  were  not 
of  one  mind  regarding  the  proposed  tour.  This 
fact  enabled  him  to  go  the  more  boldly  to  Moung 
Yeet,  an  Atwen  woon  who  was  most  persistent  in 
his  opposition,  who,  after  hearing  a  full  statement 
of  the  whole  matter,  said  :  "I  have  opposed  your 
design  ;  but  now  I  see  it  in  a  different  light,  and 
will  lay  the  matter  before  his  majesty's  officers." 

After  many  delays  and  much  anxiety,  a  permit 
from  the  government  was  procured,  and  on  January 
27th,  1837,  Dr.  Kincaid  embarked  on  what  proved 
not  only  to  be  an  important  but  a  perilous  voyage. 

Scenes  of  magnificence  met  their  gaze  on  either 
hand.  The  country  passed  through  was  one  of 
"uncommon  beauty,"  but  nothing  worthy  of 
especial  mention  occurred  until  they  had  tied  up 
their  boat  for  the  night  at  the  little  village  of  Ya 
tha-ya  and  found  themselves  at  the  very  mouth  of 
a  robber's  den.  Their  arms  for  defense  consisted 
of  one  musket  and  two  cavalry  pistols.  These  were 
put  in  readiness  for  an  emergency.     The  threaten- 


SEED  SOWING.  89 

ing  attitude  and  boisterous  manner  of  the  villagers 
furnished  a  wakeful  spirit  to  the  occupants  of  the 
boat,  and  while  the  head  man  gave  positive  orders 
for  all  to  keep  away  from  the  boat,  the  lawless 
character  and  determined  manner  of  some  of  the 
men  furnished  occasion  for  a  night  of  deep  anxiety, 
and  the  hailing  of  day  dawn  with  relief  and  delight. 
Moving  up  the  river  in  the  afternoon  they  met  with 
a  very  different  company  of  people.  This  company 
were  elderly  people,  about  twenty-five  or  thirty  in 
number.  They  were  Shyans,  male  and  female,  and 
each  dressed  in  coarse,  dark  blue  cotton.  Whether 
at  work  or  not,  they  smoked  from  pipes  with  stems 
three  or  four  feet  long.  They  had  come  from  a 
province  about  two  hundred  and  fifty  miles  to  the 
north-east,  and  were  on  a  pilgrimage  to  places  of 
reputed  merit  in  various  parts  of  the  empire. 

To  the  question,  ''Why  do  you  take  so  long  a 
journey?"  one,  wrinkled  with  age,  replied  with 
energy  :  "Our  years  are  many,  and  we  shall  visit 
all  the  most  distinguished  gods  in  the  kingdom, 
that  we  may  get  peace  and  merit  before  death." 

Dr.  Kincaid  asked  :  ' '  By  worshiping  the  gods 
of  ybur  country  do  you  get  peace?" 

"Yes;   and  we  have  heard   there  are  gods  in 


90  KINCAID,  THE  HERO  MISSIONARY. 

Amarapura,  Ava  and  Pagan,  and  that  under  them 
there  are  relics  of  Guadama,  which  possess  inde- 
scribable power.  To  visit  these  places  and  make 
offerings  and  pray  is  meritorious." 

Dropping  his  pipe  and  looking  Dr.  Kincaid  full 
in  the  face,  with  a  deeply  anxious  expression,  he 
added  :      "What  do  you  think?     Is  it  true?" 

"No;  it  is  all  wrong.  The  gods  you  are  going 
to  see  are  made  of  brick  and  lime.  They  cannot 
see  your  offerings,  hear  your  prayers,  or  help  you. 
The  true  God,  who  made  heaven  and  earth,  made 
you  and  me,  gave  us  power  to  speak  and  think, 
gives  us  the  three  seasons  —  the  warm,  cold  and 
rainy — the  Eternal  God,  whose  presence,  power 
and  goodness  are  everywhere,  that  God  is  here,  and 
hears  all  we  say.  He  sees  you  and  me,  though 
with  our  bodily  eyes  we  cannot  see  Him.  He  is 
holy,  free  from  sin,  never  sick,  never  sees  old  age, 
and  never  dies.  He  is  God — the  true  God — and 
besid®  him  there  is  no  God." 

'Wonderful  language,'  'extraordinary  words,' 
replied  a  number  with  one  breath,  and  eagerly 
wanted  more.  This  company  of  venerable  old 
people  were  out  searching  for  the  very  blessings 
found    in,   and    flowing   through,    the   gospel    Dr. 


SEED  SOWING.  91 

Kincaid  was  so  ready  to  pour  into  every  listening 
ear.  These  earnest  and  devout  people  were  igno- 
rant of  the  Being  who  made  them,  yet  distinctly 
conscious  of  accountability  to  some  supreme  being. 

At  the  village  of  Kyouk-man,  where  they  stopped 
for  the  night  only,  a  few  days  later,  Dr.  Kincaid 
spoke  to  the  people  by  moonlight,  and  after  dis- 
tributing some  tracts  and  copies  of  the  scriptures, 
and  all  were  wrapped  in  slumber.  Dr.  Kincaid  was 
aroased  by  a  low  voice  calling,  'Teacher,  teacher' ; 
and  starting  up,  the  man  who  had  called  began  to 
apologize  for  disturbing  the  teacher  at  such  an 
hour,  and  said  on  his  return  home  a  neighbor  had 
read  about  God  to  him  from  a  tract,  and  learning 
where  the  neighbor  had  procured  such  a  treasure, 
he  came  lest  the  morrow  would  find  it  too  late. 

The  voice  betokened  a  man  of  age,  and  coming 
in  the  darkness,  waist  deep  in  water,  betokened 
commendable  earnestness  and  zeal.  A  book  and 
some  tracts  were  given,  with  some  brief  words 
explaining  the  character  of  God,  his  purpose  and 
plan  of  redemption.  The  poor  old  man  who  heard 
for  the  first  time  in  his  life  of  an  Eternal  God,  who 
purposed  man's  recovery  from  ruin,  left,  pouring 
out  a  shower  of  gratitude. 


92  KINCAID,   THE  HERO  MISSIONARY. 

Our  next  stop  was  in  the  beautiful  town  of 
Kyouk-kyih,  the  residence  of  the  governor  of  the 
province  of  Monhein. 

The  governor  received  and  entertained  Dr.  Kin- 
caid  in  a  most  hospitable  manner,  and  freely  gave 
him  much  information  concerning  his  people  and 
the  population  of  his  province.  His  wife  and  other 
members  of  the  family  were  very  kind,  and  made 
the  stay  of  American  teacher  as  pleasant  as  possible. 
To  the  governor  Dr.  Kincaid  gave  two  tracts,  to 
his  wife  a  New  Testament.  For  them  they  seemed 
extremely  grateful,  and  were  free  to  converse  on 
the  subject  of  Christianity. 

In  a  village  still  further  up  the  river  a  large  room 
was  filled  with  attentive  hearers,  who  listened  until 
a  late  hour  to  the  gospel  of  Jesus.  They  were 
orderly  and  attentive,  and  said  they  had  never 
supposed  before  that  there  was  any  other  religion 
in  the  world  but  their  own  worthy  of  consideration. 
But  the  idea  of  an  Eternal  God  and  of  a  way  of 
escape  from  the  punishments  of  hell,  they  deemed 
worthy  of  attention,  and  said  they  "must  be  con- 
sidered." 

Hearty  receptions  were  given  them  at  many 
towns,  both   on  the  Irrawaddy  and  the  Mogaung 


SKED  SOWING.  n^ 

rivers,  the  head  man  always  providing  a  room  for 
public  service,  and  the  people  flocking  in  mani- 
fested the  most  respectful  attention. 

Finally,  reaching  Mogaung,  the  farthest  north 
of  any  city  in  Burma,  and  situated  about  three 
hundred  and  fifty  miles  from  Ava,  Dr.  Kincaid 
stood  at  the  borders  of  a  vast  wilderness  and  in 
the  shadows  of  the  Himmeleh  Mountains,  separat- 
ing Burma  from  Hindoostan,  skirted  by  a  territory 
crowded  with  people  and  abounding  in  mines  of 
amber  and  serpentine  stone.  He  made  a  thorough 
survey  of  the  city  and  surrounding  country,  and 
gathered  all  possible  information  concerning  the 
population  and  character  of  the  people. 

As  Dr.  Kincaid  summed  up  the  results  of  his 
survey  and  looked  in  every  direction,  and  could 
not  only  see  the  great  need  of  the  people  on  every 
hand  who  groped  their  way  in  heathen  blindness, 
but  many  willing  and  anxious  to  come  to  the  light, 
need  we  wonder  that  he  decided  to  return  home,' 
and  place  the  knowledge  gained  by  his  tour  before 
the  churches  in  America,  so  that  enlargement  of 
plans  and  work  should  correspond  with  his  enlarged 
views  and  hopes  of  the  conquest  in  time  of  this 
mighty  people  for  God. 


94  KINCAID,  THE  HERO  MISSIONARY. 

Taking  leave  of  the  governor  and  his  household, 
they  soon  were  rapidly  descending  the  river  with 
faces  homeward,  full  of  hope  and  greatly  encour- 
aged with  the  results  of  their  research,  with  no 
thought  of  the  perils  awaiting  them.  The  obstacles 
to  the  enlightening  and  saving  of  the  people  of  the 
empire  were  less  formidable,  and  access  to  them 
much  easier  than  hoped  for.  He  said  :  "I  may  be 
too  sanguine,  too  much  inclined  to  look  on  the 
bright  side,  but  after  four  years  acquaintance  with 
the  government  at  Ava,  and  after  traveling  the 
whole  length  of  the  empire,  visiting  almost  every 
city,  town  and  village  on  the  Irrawaddy,  from  the 
Martaban  gulf  to  the  Himmeleh  Mountains,  and 
forming  an  acquaintance  with  many  of  the  prg- 
vincial  authorities,  and  knowing  the  character  of 
many  tribes  of  Burma,  I  have  at  least  had  oppor- 
tunity of  forming  some  idea  of  what  can  be  done. 

Only  a  few  years  previous  to  this  it  was  not 
thought  possible  for  a  missionary  to  live  in  Ava; 
*  *  *  preach  the  gospel,  make  disciples  and 
baptize  them  into  the  church  of  Christ. 

And  I  wonder  whether  all  the  Scotch  grit  and 
the  divine  grace  of  a  Dr.  Kincaid  were  not  often 
needed  in  planting  and  holding  the  little  church 
that  only  numbered  twenty  at  the  end  of  four  years. 


CHAPTER  X. 

CAPTURED    BY   ROBBERS. 

I  fe^^'Th^V'  T^'^t^  ^"""^  ^y  salvation;  whom  shall 
shaHI  be  af,l-H?  wl  '^' ''''^\^'^  °f  ^^Y  life;  of  whom 
Shall  1  be  afiaid?  When  the  wicked,  even  mine  enemies 
and  my  foes,  came  upon  me  to  eat  up  my  flesh  Xv 
stumbled  and  fell.  Though  an  host'should  en'clm^ 
agamst  me  my  heart  shall  not  fear.  "-/>.«/,.,  ^;,^,V,  ^^l 

The   perils   and    privations  which  Dr.  Kincaid 
underwent  on  his  passage  down  the  Irrawaddy  from 
Mogaung,  form  a  thrilling  chapter  in  his  eventful 
life.     Burma  was  in  arms.     The  horrors  of  anarchy 
and  civil  war  had  quickly  spread  over  the  empire 
upon  Thur-ra-wa-di's   revolution    (an  account  of 
which  may  be  found  in  Chapter  XVII.)     I,arge 
bodies    of     armed    men    were    rapidly    organized 
into  prowling  and  marauding  bands,  whose  occu- 
pation was  plundering  and  burning  both  cities  and 
villages,  and  rendering  all  travel  exceedingly  haz- 
ardous.     Having  completed  his  explorations  and 
surveys  so  far  as  his  resources  would  permit,  Dr. 
Kincaid  turned  his  face  homeward,  and  with  little 
hindrance  rapidly  passed  the  one  hundred  and  fifty 


96 

miles  of  picturesque  country  from  Mo^aung,  the 
most  northern  city  of  Burma,  to  the  little  village 
of  cruel  bandits  that  awaited  the  coming  of  any- 
thing on  which  they  might  fall  as  prey. 

On  the  morning  of  February  27th,  1837,  a  small 
boat  with  twelve  men  in  it  was  seen  hurriedly 
approaching  them.  One  of  the  servants  was 
ordered  to  hold  up  a  Burman  musket,  to  show  that 
they  had  government  protection.  At  sight  of  the 
musket  the  robbers  wheeled  and  rowed  away  with 
all  haste,  and  the  hope  that  all  trouble  was  over 
was  no  solace  long,  as  the  robbers  were  seen  coming 
again,  with  a  second  boat  of  twelve  more  well  armed 
men,  all  carrying  with  them  muskets  and  long 
spears,  and  each  having  a  Burman  sword  hung  over 
his  shoulder.  Dr.  Kincaid  now  stood  up  with  two 
loaded  pistols,  and  warned  them  to  be  off  or  suffer 
the  consequences,  and  although  they  immediately 
rowed  away,  it  was  for  reinforcements.  Dr.  Kin- 
caid encouraged  his  men  to  ply  their  oars  and 
escape  if  possible,  but  soon  six  boats,  with  seventy 
or  eighty  men,  with  furious  yells  came  down  upon 
them,  apparently  bent  on  their  destruction.  They 
formed  themselves  into  a  crescent,  and  at  the  dis- 
tance  of  two  hundred  yards  or  more,  fired  a  round 


CAPTURED  BY  ROBBERS.  97 

of  twenty-five  or  thirty  shots  at  Dr.  Kincaid  and 
his  boat.      His  men  had  fallen  down  into  the  bot- 
tom of  the  boat.     The  balls  whistled  about  him 
uncomfortably  near.     Some  went  over  his  head, 
some  on  either  side,  some  into  the  water,  but  no 
one  was  harmed.     Realizing  that  it  was  madness 
to   longer   resist   such  a  force  single-handed,  Dr. 
Kincaid  threw  up  his  hands  and  told  them  :    '  'Come 
and  take  all  I  have.      Don't  shoot  any  more,  for 
you  have  nothing  to  fear.     No  further  resistance 
will  be  made."     Notwithstanding  all  he  said  and 
his   full   surrender,  they   loaded  and  fired  several 
more  shots  at  him,  but  through  a  merciful  provi- 
dence no  harm  was  done  to  a  single  one  on  board. 
And  while  Dr.  Kincaid   remonstrated  with   them 
for  firing  upon  a  single  and 'empty-handed  foreigner, 
they  closed  in  upon  him  with  fixed  bayonets,  spears 
poised  in  the  air,  and  swords  drawn,  as  if  they  fully 
purposed  cutting  him  into  a  thousand  pieces.     A 
dozen  swords  were  over  his  head,  and  his  whole 
body  was   encased  in  the  steel  points  of  swords, 
and  bayonets,  and  spears,  so  it  was  impossible  to 
move  in  any  direction  without  coming  in  contact 
with  these  sharp  weapons  of  war.      These  savage 
monsters  roared,  grinned,  threatened,  and  uttered 


98  KINCAID,  THE  HERO  MISSIONARY. 

the  most  horrible  imprecations.  On  reaching  the 
shore  his  books,  papers,  maps,  medicines,  provis- 
ions and  money  were  laid  in  a  general  heap,  to  be 
divided  as  spoils  among  his  cruel  captors,  who  also 
took  all  his  clothing  except  shirt  and  pants.  He 
told  them  he  would  not  be  thus  treated,  but  they 
must  take  him  before  their  chief  man.  An  armed 
guard  of  several  men  was  placed  over  him,  and  he 
was  ordered  to  lie  down  while  the  robbers  divided 
their  plunder.  Dr.  Kincaid  says  :  "Nor  could  I 
keep  from  smiling  to  see  the  ludicrous  appearance 
that  many  of  these  wretched  men  presented.  One 
had  on  a  shirt,  another  a  jacket,  and  another  a  pair 
of  pantaloons." 

Many  boats  had  been  robbed  within  the  past  few 
days,  twenty-nine  on  tRe  same  day  of  Dr.  Kin- 
caid's  capture.  They  were  gathering  plunder  and 
spoil  at  a  rapid  rate,  but  they  seemed  most  con- 
cerned about  what  disposition  should  be  made  of 
their  foreign  prisoner.  They  were  under  great 
excitement  and  the  indications  were  that  he  should 
be  disposed  of  in  the  way  least  liable  to  make 
them  future  trouble. 

Their  custom  was  to  destroy  such  prisoners  as 
would    make    them    trouble   in    case    of    escape. 


CAPTURED  BY  ROBBERS.  99 

While  conscious  of  this  fact,  Dr.  Kincaid  says, 
''I  felt  that  the  superintending  providence  of  God 
had  faithfully  preserved  my  life  amidst  scenes  and 
dangers  quite  as  fearful  as  the  ones  in  which  I  was 
now  involved,  and  I  had  a  faint  hope  that  I  should 
be  preserved." 

In  these  trying  circumstances  I  lifted  my  heart 
to  God  in  prayer  for  his  continued  protection. 
At  the  breathing  of  this  prayer  one  said,  "I  will 
kill  him."    Another  said,  "I  will  cut  his  head  off." 

The  chief  was  a  dignified  man,  noble  in  his 
appearance,  possessed  of  an  open  and  benevolent 
countenance,  and  possessed  perfect  control  over 
his  men.  He  betrayed  momentary  sympathy  for 
Dr.  Kincaid' s  condition  more  than  once  and  hav- 
ing the  fullest  confidence  and  respect  of  his  men, 
the  captive  was  encouraged  to  ask  some  favors 
which  were  promptly  granted.  He  says,  "I  put 
my  hand  on  the  knee  of  the  chief,  and  represented 
to  him  my  destitute  condition  and  exposure  to  the 
sun  by  day  and  the  damp  and  chilly  dew  by  night. 
My  jackets  and  pantaloons  being  restored  without 
a  murmur,  I  was  encouraged  to  ask  the  further 
favor  of  a  cloak  of  coarse  cloth  that  would  make 
me  comfortable  while  asleep  at  night." 


lOO  KINCAID,  THE  HERO  MISSIONARY. 

"A  man  of  most  desperate  appearance,  with 
villiany  and  cold-blooded  murder  stamped  in  his 
face,  sat  upon  my  cloak,  and  when  the  chief  asked 
him  to  restore  it  to  me  he  drew  it  still  closer  under 
him,  as  if  to  hide  it,  but  I  pointed  it  out,  and  the 
chief  ordered  him  to  give  it  to  me." 

The  fellow,  cursing,  took  it  from  under  him,  and 
discovering  it  to  be  of  greater  value  than  he  at  first 
supposed  it  to  be,  muttered  dissatisfaction,  again 
placed  it  under  him,  and  drew  his  sword  with 
the  apparent  determination  not  to  give  up  his  share 
of  the  spoils  without  a  struggle.  Several  of  his 
wild  comrades  rallied  around  him.  "I  was  not, 
however,  to  be  deterred  from  my  purpose  with 
these  threats,  and  again  called  the  attention  of  the 
chief  to  my  cloak." 

He  turned  his  head  away  as  I  spoke,  which  was 
the  signal  of  dissatisfaction,  and  in  a  moment  a 
hundred  swords  were  drawn,  and  with  dreadful 
imprecations  and  yells  they  rushed  toward  me  in 
great  passion,  as  if  to  destroy  me.  This  was 
enough.  I  saw  that  further  entreaty  would  be  in 
vain,  and  that  I  had  incurred  the  displeasure  and 
created  the  dissatisfaction  of  the  chief  by  my 
earnest  and  repeated  applications  for  his  clemency 


CAPTURED  BY  ROBBERS.  lOI 

and  favor.  There  appeared  at  once  to  be  great 
confusion  among  the  robbers,  who  were  walking 
about  in  great  fury.  "Soon,"  says  Dr.  Kincaid, 
"I  was  ordered  to  the  boat  under  a  strong  guard, 
and  was  informed  by  one  of  my  boatmen  that  the 
robbers  were  sitting  in  council,  to  determine 
whether  to  kill  or  to  release  me.'' 

It  was  a  state  of  considerable  anxiety  and  sus- 
pense to  me,  and  I  was  relieved  only  to  make 
uncertainty  certain,  for  when  the  council  broke  up 
the  youngest  of  my  Burman  boys,  a  lad  about  six- 
teen, approached  me  in  tears,  and  told  me  that  the 
robbers  had  decided  to  behead  me  at  sundown,"  the 
time  of  day  when  all  Burman  executions  took 
place.  The  knowledge  of  my  sentence  was  almost 
more  than  I  could  bear.  For  a  few  minutes  I  was 
completely  overpowered.  A  cold  perspiration  came 
over  me;  my  breathing  was  short  and  interrupted; 
my  mouth  became  parched,  and  my  tongue  seemed 
to  cleave  to  {he  roof  of  my  mouth.  It  was  not  the 
fear  of  death,  but  the  character  of  my  death.  I 
looked  on  the  dreadful  place  in  which  I  was  called 
to  die,  and  the  nature  of  the  circumstances  by 
which  I  was  surrounded — alone,  among  a  band  of 
fierce  robbers,  outlaws  and  murderers;  their  cold- 


I02  KINCAID,  THE  HERO  MISSIONARY. 

blooded  determination  to  take  my  life  without  a 
single  exciting  cause  for  convicting  me;  no  friend 
to  communicate  with,  and  to  tell  the  state  of  my 
mind;  none,  perhaps,  to  carry  the  tidings  of  my 
death  to  Ava,  to  the  mission  and  my  family — for  it 
was  very  doubtful  then  whether  any  of  the  Bur- 
mans  who  were  with  me  would  ever  escape.  The 
sensations  were  dreadful,  and  I  can  scarcely  bear, 
even  now,  to  think  of  them. 

However,  I  recovered  in  a  very  few  minutes  from 
this  state  of  mental  despondency,  and  thought, 
what  is  this?  It  is  nervousness  ;  it  will  never  do  ; 
I  must»rally.  If  this  is  death,  I  must  meet  it  with 
Christian  firmness.  I  am  still  in  the  hands  of  my 
Heavenly  Father,  who  has  oftentimes  preserved 
me,  and  why  need  I  fear  what  men  can  do  unto 
me  ;  they  can  kill  the  body  but  they  cannot  destroy 
the  soul.  I  know  I  must  die,  and  if  this  is  the 
time  and  the  manner  which  God  has  appointed  for 
my  departure,  I  do  resign  myself  into  His  Almighty 
hands,  and  I  trust,  come  what  may,  it  will  all  be 
for  His  glory.  Thus  I  struggled  with  my  feelings, 
and  reasoned  with  myself,  until  I  gained  the  mas- 
tery, and  until  entire  composure  and  reconciliation 
to  my  fate  had  settled  over  my  senses. 


CAPTURED  BY  ROBBERS.  103 

I  had  nothing  now  to  do  but  to  await  the  time 
fixed  for  my  execution,  and  the  hour  drew  near. 
But  man  appoints  and  God  disappoints.  I  watched 
the  fleeting  moments  as  they  sped  by,  and  I  could 
not  keep  my  eyes  off  my  executioners,  who  ap- 
peared to  be  engaged  in  an  angry  war  of  words. 
They  became  louder  and  louder,  and  I  found,  by 
catching  a  word  now  and  then,  that  they  were 
divided  in  opinions  as  to  my  sentence  of  death. 

A  faint  hope  stole  over  me  that  the  hand  of  God 
was  about  to  be  extended  for  my  preservation,  and 
I  uttered  a  prayer  for  relief.  The  robbers  drew 
their  swords,  looked  fierce,  and  seemed  ready  *to 
plunge  them  into  each  other,  so  violent  was  their 
anger.  In  a  little  while  they  were  on  their  way  to 
plunder  a  village  a  few  miles  away,  and  by  the 
hour  set  for  my  execution  not  a  man  of  the  banditti 
was  on  the  ground. 

As  I  remember  to  have  heard  Dr.  Kincaid  relate 
this  providential  escape,  it  was  about  in  this  wise: 
The  robbers  had  some  fears  as  to  future  results, 
and  they  reversed  the  decision  to  behead  him  at 
sundown,  but  there  was  such  anger  and  excitement 
that  nothing  seemed  to  appease  their  anger  until 
some  one  proposed  the  sacking  of  the  village,  and 


I04  KINCAID,  THE  HERO  MISSIONARY. 

the  motion  carried  so  unanimously  that  they  went 
like  a  flock  of  sheep  where  the  leader  had  jumped 
the  fence  into  new  pasture,  and  not  one  stayed  to 
look  after  the  prisoners,  who,  after  getting  some 
rice,  took  their  boat,  put  into  the  current,  and  were 
soon  out  of  sight  of  the  scene  of  their  trials  and 
fears,  and  gave  God  the  deepest  gratitude  of  hearts 
rejoicing  over  escape  from  such  a  fearful  death. 


CHAPTER  XL 

IN  GREATER  PERILS,  YET  PREvSERVED. 

'•Thy  God  whom  thou  servest  continually,  He  will 
deliver  thee. — Dan.  vi,  i6. 

Some  bandits  led  to  the  chief  robber's  place, 
A  captive  so  full  of  womanly  grace. 
Her  very  deportment  ennobling  to  see. 
An  honor  to  woman  wherever  she  be. 

These  bandits  so  cruel  were  after  her  gold, 
And  whipped  her  quite  hard  to  make  her  unfold 
The  place  of  concealment  that  held  it  secure; 
In  dignified  nobleness  she  stood  there,  demure. 

With  womanly  form  subjected  to  pains. 
Her  hair  fast  clotting  with  blood  from  her  veins; 
No  mortal  but  bandit,  with  heart  like  a  stone. 
Could  quicken  the  blows  at  each  dying  groan. 

At  last  all  was  over,  and  death  was  complete. 
Her  first-born  fell  with  the  babe  at  her  feet. 
Cried,  "Mother  I  don't  die  and  leave  us  alone  !  " 
No  answer  came  back,  not  even  a  groan. 

One  robber  kicked  as  he  would  a  dog, 
The  eldest  of  seven  'till  she  lay  as  a  log, 
Unconscious  of  baby  now  left  to  her  care. 
Or  whether  of  seven  one  child  he  would  spare. 

And  not  a  word  of  kindness  was  spoken, 
Save  by  a  captive  whose  bonds  were  unbroken; 
Nor  aught  of  help  could  this  captive  afford, 
But  on  that  bandit  worm  epithets  poured. 


I06  KINCAID,   THE  HERO  MISSIONARY. 

Escaping  that  night  from  this  robber  clan, 

A  perilous  journey  on  foot  he  began; 

Over  mountain  and  vale,  through  jungle  and  glen, 

In  ways  never  pressed  by  the  footsteps  of  men. 

After  escaping  the  perils  and  threatened  death 
related  in  the  preceding  chapter,  nothing  inter- 
rupted their  passage  or  security  until  just  at  day 
dawn  when  they  came  in  sight  of  the  village  of 
Sabanago,  about  one  mile  ahead.  It  was  soon 
evident  that  they  should  meet  no  friendly  reception 
at  this  village  as  their  ears  began  to  be  pierced 
with  the  most  terrific  yells  and  a  number  of  armed 
boats  were  seen  to  put  off  from  the  shore  to  head 
them  off  as  they  came  on  down  the  stream. 

There  were  about  two  hundred  of  the  furious 
men  who  quickly  surrounded  Dr.  Kincaid's  boat 
which  was  instantly  boarded  by  four  well-armed 
young  men,  who  seized  on  their  prey  like  young 
tigers;  they  took  hold  of  Dr.  Kincaid's  neck-stock 
and  dragged  in  every  direction  so  furiously  that  he 
was  choked  near  to  insensibility.  In  this  state 
and  perhaps  with  a  death-struggle,  he  threw  up 
his  arms  and  released  himself  from  their  grasp. 
This  but  made  them  more  furious.  They  seized 
him  again  and  tore  off  his  neck-stock,  jacket, 
shirt,  pantaloons,  and  shoes,  leaving  him  without 


IN  GREATER  PERILS.  1 07 

a  vestige  of  clothing.  Recovering  from  the  shock 
of  this  cruel  treatment^  he  stood  erect  before  his 
fierce  and  brutal  captors,  who  at  once  began  tying 
his  arms  after  the  manner  of  securing  Burmese 
criminals.  Dr,  Kincaid  determined  to  resist  this 
treatment,  and  told  them  they  should  not  tie  him, 
that  he  never  had  been  tied,  and  that  he  should 
resist  being  tied  until  death.  With  this  they  set 
up  a  loud  laugh  and  grinned  awfully  at  him  but 
did  not  persist  in  tying  him. 

When  they  reached  the  shore,  they  dragged  him 
along  some  yards  from  the  place  of  landing,  and 
there  made  a  ring  in  the  sand  around  where  he 
stood  and  told  him  for  his  life's  sake  not  to  step 
beyond  it. 

A  guard  of  armed  robbers,  numbering  from  fif- 
teen to  twenty,  surrounded  this  ring,  and  thus  left 
him  scarcely  any  chance  for  escape. 

One  of  his  Burmans,  who  saw  and  felt  for  his 
exposed  condition,  took  off  his  waist-cloth,  tore  it 
in  two,  and  handed  Dr.  Kincaid  one-half  of  it, 
which  he  secured  around  his  waist,  and  in  this 
dreadfully  exposed  condition,  without  an  article  of 
food  or  drink  except  what  he  begged  from  the 
women  of  the  village,  as  they  passed  and  re-passed 


io8 

down  to  the  river  for  water,  did  he  remain  six  days 
and  six  nights,  without  any  shelter  from  the 
scorching  heat  of  the  midday  sun,  or  the  cold, 
damp  air  of  night.  x\nd  besides  this,  he  did  not 
know  what  would  be  his  fate  from  day  to  day,  or 
from  hour  to  hour.  He  was  continually  harrassed 
by  impertinent  questions,  and  the  cowardly  threats 
of  his  cruel  tormenters,  who  left  no  means  unem- 
ployed to  make  his  situation  as  miserable  as 
possible. 

During  the  time  that  Dr.  Kincaid  was  impris- 
oned here,  his  four  boatmen  and  three  of  his  boys 
made  their  escape  in  the  night.  The  fourth  and 
last  one,  Tha-oung  by  name,  came  to  him  on  the 
third  day,  and  observing  him  casting  his  longing 
eyes  in  the  direction  of  Ava,  Dr.  Kincaid  knew 
that  he  wished  to  inform  him  of  his  intention  to 
run  away. 

He  walked  all  around  Dr.  Kincaid  at  a  distance, 
and  then  came  nearer,  as  if  desiring  to  speak  to 
him.  His  manner  also  showed  an  unwillingness 
to  leave  his  teacher  alone  to  die  at  the  hands  of  the 
cruel  robbers.  At  last  making  his  way  to  him  he 
sat  down  by  his  side  and  wept  like  a  child,  telling 
him    that  he   intended   to   make  his   escape  that 


IN  GREATER  PERILS.  IO9 

night;  that  the  others  had  run  away,  and  to  escape 
was  his  only  show  for  liberty. 

Dr.  Kincaid  told  him  to  go,  and  if  he  ever 
reached  Ava  and  the  mission  station  to  give  all  the 
information  concerning  him  that  he  could. 

After  some  words  of  Christian  counsel  given  to 
the  boy  by  Dr.  Kincaid,  and  the  assurance  that  if 
he  would  remain  true  to  his  profession  they  might 
hope  to  meet  again,  the  boy,  with  almost  a  broken 
heart,  took  leave  of  the  fettered  prisoner.  He 
only  went  a  short  distance,  however,  when  his 
mind  was  made  up  to  return,  and  arriving,  he  said: 
"  Teacher,  I  will  never  leave  you,  but  will  stay  by 
you  until  I  die:'  Dr.  Kincaid  endeavored  to  dis- 
suade him  from  keeping  this  resolution,  but  to  no 
purpose.  His  mind  was  made  up  to  remain  a  pris- 
oner. 

On  the  very  next  day,  however,  this  faithful  boy 
was  selected  from  among  the  prisoners  to  go  into 
the  interior  as  the  servant  of  one  of  the  petty  chiefs 
and  a  number  of  the  gang.  Nothing  more  was 
heard  of  him  until  two  or  three  months  afterwards, 
when  he  returned  to  Ava.  Dr.  Kincaid  now 
thought  very  seriously  of  attempting  to  escape, 
but  it  was  a  very  hazardous  undertaking.      He  was 


no  KINCAID,  THE  HERO  MISSIONARY. 

about  two  hundred  miles  from  Ava,  and  should  he 
escape,  must  avoid  the  river  and  take  his  chances 
of  finding  a  pass  over  the  mountains,  where  possi- 
bly human  foot  had  never  gone  before.  Hour  by 
hour  he  watched  the  mountain's  side,  to  see  if  he 
could  possibly  discover  a  pathway  or  hope  of  relief 
from  his  present  peril. 

The  perils  across  the  mountain  way  he  could 
not  fully  know.  Those  surrounding  him  were 
exceedingly  grave  and  threatening,  so  his  mind 
was  made  up  to  escape,  and  being  entirely  desti- 
tute of  clothing,  and  feeling  sadly  the  effects  of 
his  constant  exposure,  he  endeavored  to  single  out 
that  man  of  all  his  guard  whose  countenance  dis- 
played the  greatest  amount  of  benevolence, 
determined  to  make  advances,  and  if  possible 
obtain  his  favor.  Having  selected  his  man,  he 
spoke  to  him,  and  reasoned  with  him  about  his 
exposure,  telling  him  how  unaccustomed  he  was  to 
go  without  clothing,  and  to  sleep  without  covering 
at  night.  In  this  way  he  soon  won  upon  him  so 
that  he  went  and  brought  him  an  old  piece  of  sail- 
cloth, and  afterwards  the  pantaloons  of  which  they 
had  stripped  him  when  first  taken  prisoner.  Dr. 
Kincaid  feared  to  ask  more  lest  suspicion  should  be 


IN  GREATER  PERILS.  IM 

aroused,  but  determined  to  go  on  his  perilous  jour- 
ney the  first  opportunity  that  offered  itself  for 
escaping. 

During  the  six  days  that  Dr.  Kincaid  was  detained 
among  these  robbers,  parties  were  sent  off  every  day 
to  plunder  travelers  and  to  plunder  in  the  neigh- 
boring towns,  and  often,  in  the  night,  the  sky  was 
lighted  up  by  tlie  flames  from  burning  villages. 
These  parties,"  after  robbing  and  burning  the  houses 
and  barns,  would  drive  into  their  haunt  large  herds 
of  cattle,  and  roast  them,  and  feast  and  drink  and 
smoke  all  day. 

Dr.  Kincaid  was  imprisoned  not  more  than 
twelve  feet  from  where  the  robber  chieftain  sat, 
and  from  morning  until  night  parties  of  the  banditti 
were  bringing  in  women  and  children,  and  the 
chief  would  examine  them  to  learn  where  their 
valuable  were  buried,  it  being  the  custom  of  these 
people  to  hide  their  gold  and  jewels  in  jars  in  the 
earth,  for  fear  of  fire  and  thieves.  If  these  women 
refused  to  tell  him  where  their  valuables  were  buried, 
they  were  shamefully  treated  and  cruelly  beaten. 
They  would  strip  them,  throw  them  on  the  ground, 
tie  their  h^nds  and  feet  together,  and  then,  with 
large  rattans,  a  robber  would  scourge  these  females 


112 

in  a  most  unmerciful  manner.  Sometimes,  even 
if  they  would  yield  from  their  intense  sufferings, 
and  tell  where  their  gold  was  hid,  they  would  go 
on  beating  them  because  the  robbers  would  say 
that  was  not  all. 

Many  of  these  women,  though  their  sufferings 
were  dreadful,  bore  the  scourging  with  astonishing 
fortitude.  It  was  not  the  purpose  of  the  robbers 
to  put  them  to  death,  but  to  torture  them ;  and 
after  whipping  them  until  their  backs  were  torn 
and  lacerated,  they  would  take  their  spears  and 
pierce  holes  in  their  bodies  half  an  inch  in  depth, 
and  after  making  thirty  or  forty  of  these  stabs, 
they  would  take  pieces  of  split  bamboo,  and  dip 
one  end  in  melted  sulphur  and  stick  the  other  end 
into  the  punctures  made  in  the  bodies  of  these  poor 
captive  women,  and  then  light  them  as  tapers,  and 
in  this  they  seemed  to  take  great  delight. 

Dr.  Kincaid  was  obliged  to  witness  these  horrid 
cruelties,  for,  although  he  would  close  his  eyes,  he 
could  not  close  his  ears  to  their'lamentations,  and 
the  cries  of  their  children,  who  had  to  look  on  and 
behold  these  monsters  beating  and  abusing  their 
mothers. 

On  the  sixth  day  he  witnessed  a  scene  of  cruelty 


IN  GREATER  PERILS.  II3 

far  surpassing  all  others.      It  was  the  scourging  of 
a  female  who  had  with  her  seven  children. 

She  was  taller  than  most  Burmese  women,  of 
slender  frame,  and  had  a  fine,  intellectual  counte- 
nance. With  a  dignified  nobleness,  she  stood  be- 
fore her  captors,  and  with  an  expression  of  defiance, 
refused  to  answer  their  questions.  Dr.  Kincaid 
looked  upon  her  and  her  seven  children  clinging 
around  her,  with  the  deepest  interest. 

She  was  beaten  by  a  robber,  a  thick,  muscular 
man,  who  could  strike  with  great  power.  The 
chieftain  would  cry  out,  ''Strike  quick."  Then 
the  blows  would  fall  faster  and  with  more  ven- 
geance. Her  hair  fell  down  over  her  bare  back, 
and  was  soon  heavily  clotted  with  blood,  and  her 
face  cut  unmercifully.  Every  blow  Dr.  Kincaid 
expected  would  be  the  last.  Finally  her  head  fell 
on  her  shoulder,  her  eyes  were  fixed,  her  lips  pale, 
she  rolled  over  on  the  ground.  Death  had  done 
its  work. 

Her  eldest  child,  a  beautiful  girl,  who  had  held 
the  infant  in  her  arms,  and  her  five  brothers  and 
sisters  wept  bitterly,  when  they  found  their  mother 
was  dead.     This  girl  laid  the  babe  at  her  feet,  and  ' 
fell  down  upon  the  body  of  her  mother,  uttering 


114  KING  AID,  THK  HERO  MISSIONARY. 

the  most  piteous  and  piercing  cries  of  anguish, 
repeating  again  and  again,  "Mother,  don't  die  and 
leave  us. " 

Dr.  Kincaid  looked  on  those  fiends  in  human 
shape  and  waited  to  see  if  there  was  one  there  to 
speak  a  kind  word  to  these  orphaned  children, 
but  among  them  all  there  was  no  one  to  pity. 
Instead,  one  of  them  violently  kicked  the  poor 
child,  to  get  out  of  the  way,  and  she  fell  over 
speechless  on  the  ground.  This  brutality  was  too 
much  to  bear;  a  maddening  sensation  filled  him 
with  wrath  so  that  he  arose  to  avenge  the  cruelties 
no  longer  bearable  but  found  himself  tied  and 
unable  to  get  hold  of  the  cruel  monster,  on  whom 
he  poured  every  epithet  that  human  language 
could  invent,  wholly  indifferent  as  to  what  might 
be  his  fate.  To  tantalize  him  the  whole  band 
burst  into  a  loud  laugh. 

His  mind  was  settled  at  once  to  escape  at  all 
hazards.  The  remainder  of  the  day  he  kept  a 
close  watch  on  his  guard  and  on  the  mountains. 
Night  came  and  the  guard  as  usual  took  it  in  turn 
to  sleep.  But  it  was  no  time  for  him  to  sleep,  as 
failure  to  escape  and  the  hope  of  success  were  in 


IN  GREATER  PERILS.  nr 

the  balance,  and  the  chances  against  hope,  and  if 
hope  failed  his  life  must  pay  the  forfeit. 

To  insure  the  success  of  his  purpose,  he  amused 
the  guard  with  entertaining  stories  about  America, 
the  steamboat  and  the  steam  engine,  until  a  late 
hour,  and  long  after  midnight,  while  the  guards  all 
slept,  as  he  hoped  they  would,  he  crept  away  in 
almost  breathless  silence,  beyond  the  guard,  to 
where  he  could  quicken  his  steps,  and  soon  reached 
the  skirts  of  the  forest. 

Once  in  the  jungle,  he  breathed  more  freely,  and 
thanked  God  for  the  possibility  of  putting  himself 
beyond  the  reach  of  his  cruel  captors  before  morn- 
ing.    At  sunset  he  reached  the  mountains,  much 
exhausted,  and  with  anxiety,  loss  of  sleep,  hunger 
and  the  fatigue  of  travel,  he  felt  it  impossible  to 
take  another  step,  and  after  returning  thanks  to 
God  for  his  great  deliverance,  and  asking  His  pro- 
tection on  his  journey,  he  rested  and  slept.     When 
next  he  awoke  the  sun  was  near  meridian,  and, 
starting  up,  he  hurried  as  fast  as  possible  on  his 
way,  through  a  dense  and  tangled   forest,  which 
never  had  before,    perhaps,    been   trodden  by  the 
footsteps  of  man. 

He  traveled  all  day  without  water,  but  at  sun- 


Il6  KINCAID,  THE  HERO  MISSIONARY. 

down  came  to  a  little  ravine,  which  was  followed 
until  a  muddled  spring  was  discovered,  holding, 
possibly,  three  quarts  of  water,  with  a  dark  red- 
colored  scum  more  than  half  an  inch  thick  covering 
the  surface.  It  was  not  a  time  to  be  over-particular. 
So,  after  partaking  of  his  remaining  stock  of  rice, 
he  laid  himself  down,  pushed  the  scum  away,  and 
drank  until  his  burning  and  raging  thirst  was  en- 
tirely quenched. 

Without  rising,  he  rolled  over  and  passed  the 
night  in  peaceful  slumber  until  the  sun  shone  full 
in  his  face.  Stiff  in  every  limb,  and  with  feet 
bleeding  and  blistered,  he  set  out  again  on  his 
journey. 

He  found  it  a  heavy  task  to  urge  himself  forward 
at  the  slow  gait  he  was  compelled  to  travel.  More 
than  once  frail  nature  was  ready  to  yield,  but  when 
he  would  stop  and  think,  here  I  am  to  die  in  the 
deep  recesses  of  a  mountain  forest,  where  human 
beings  seldom,  if  ever,  travel,  far  from  home  and 
friends,  with  no  eye  to  see  but  the  eye  of  God. 
The  idea  of  so  awful  a  death  preyed  upon  him,  so 
he  was  driven  to  renewed  efforts,  again  and  again, 
to  reach  some  human  habitation.  At  last,  turning 
the  crest  of  a  mountain,  he  could  travel  with  more 


IN  GREATER  PERILS.  II7 

ease,  and  finally  came  in  sight  of  a  village,  which 
he  rightly  judged  to  be  a  village  of  robbers.  He 
knew  the  robber  chief  always  lived  in  the  largest 
house,  and  made  his  way  straight  to  the  largest 
house,  and  to  his  great  joy  found  the  robbers  were 
absent.  He  kindly  spoke  to  the  chieftain^ s  wife, 
and  told  her  his  story  of  sorrow.  The  woman 
said,  'And  have  you  a  mother?'  Yes,  I  have  a 
mother  in  America.  And  Dr.  Kincaid  has  often 
said,  'My  own  mother  could  not  have  been  kinder 
to  me  than  was  this  woman.  The  big  tears  rolled 
down  her  cheeks  as  she  witnessed  the  evidences  of 
cruelty  to  the  escaping,  inoffensive  sufferer.  After 
a  hasty  meal  and  some  directions  as  to  how  he 
could  avoid  the  robbers,  they  parted,  the  woman 
deploring-  the  work  of  her  husband  and  people  and 
Dr.  Kincaid  rejoicing  at  a  kindness  which  he  cher- 
ished to  the  very  close  of  his  life. 

Late  in  the  evening  he  came  in  sight  of  the 
hamlet  of  a  Burmese  peasant;  reaching  the  cottage 
he  made  known  his  situation.  A  man  venerable 
with  years  invited  him  into  his  house,  his  wife  set 
before  him  a  large  dish  of  cold  boiled  rice.  After 
enjoying  this  most  welcome  reception,  he  soon 
fell  asleep  on  a  mat  and  peacefully  slept  until  the 


ii8 

following  morning  when  his  journey  was  again 
resumed,  and  after  an  uneventful  day -of  weary 
travel  he  reached  a  spring  as  the  sun  was  throwing 
his  farewell  evening  shadows  onto  the  curtain  of 
night.  He  quench^^d  his  thirst  and  lay  down  to 
await  an  opportunity  of  asking  food  from  some 
passerby.  Soon  he  saw  a  woman  coming  with  her 
jar  for  water.  As  she  approached  Dr.  Kincaid 
spoke  kindly  to  her  bidding  her  not  to  fear,  and 
told  her  his  condition  was  due  to  his  capture  by 
robbers  from  whom  he  had  escaped  and  was  trying 
to  make  his  way  home  to  the.  capital.  She 
directed  him  to  remain  where  he  was,  that  there 
were  many  robbers  in  the  country  and  should 
he  enter  the  village  suspicion  would  be  created. 

Filling  her  jar  she  went  to  the  village  and  soon 
returned  with  a  meal  of  boiled  rice.  Returning 
thanks  to  God,  he  partook  of  his  solitary  meal, 
and  again  lay  down  and  slept  undisturbed  till 
morning,  when  he  found  it  quite  difficult  to  make 
progress  owing  to  stiffness  in  his  limbs  and  the 
soreness  of  his  feet. 

•  The  day  was  nearing  its  close  without  any 
remarkable  event  or  change  to  break  the  monotony 
of  the  lonely  way,  when  turning  the  brow  of  a  hill 


IN  GREATER  PERILS.  II9 

he  came  suddenly  upon  a  group  of  bandits,  eating 
their  evening  meal.  They  were  horrid  in  appear- 
ance, and  coming  so  unexpectedly  upon  them 
caused  some  alarm,  but  he  walked  boldly  on  with 
seeming  indifference.  They  looked  at  him  with  a 
fiendish  grin,  but  no  one  seemed  wijling  to  leave 
his  meal  to  molest  the  weary  and  jaded  traveler. 
Losing  no  time  even  to  look  back,  he  was  soon  out 
of  sight,  and  fell  on  his  knees  to  thank  God  for 
another  deliverance.  After  another  night's  rest 
he  pursued  his  way  through  a  sparsely  settled 
country,  and  here  and  there  would  find  a  cleared 
patch  of  ground  tilled  by  some  poor  natives,  who 
would  hide  themselves  as  he  passed,  as  if  afraid  of 
the  sight  of  man. 

Till  now  he  had  gone  eastward  toward  the  Shan 
country,  but  circling  back  at  last,  came  near  a  little 
village  on  the  Irrawaddy,  about  thirty-five  miles 
above  Ava. 

He  avoided  the  village,  but  found  the  watering 
place  on  the  river  where  the  jars  were  filled  by  the 
women.  He  laid  himself  down  in  the  sand,  hun- 
gry and  exhausted  with  travel,  and  waited  the 
coming    of    the    Burmese    women    to    get   water, 


I20  KINCAID,  THE  HERO  MISSIONARY. 

remembering  that  he  had  never  been  refused  food 
asked  for  at  the  hand  of  a  Burmese  woman. 

It  was  not  long-  until  ne  obtained  boiled  rice 
from  two  native  women,  and  laid  him  down  and 
slept  once  more. 

Awakening,  he  started  at  once  on  his  way,  and 
soon  met  a  face  he  had  seen  before,  who,  on  prom- 
ise of  an  exorbitant  price,  undertook  to  deliver  him 
at  the  capital. 

On  his  arrival  home,  exposed  as  he  had  been  by 
nakedness,  hunger,  privations,  hardships  and 
travel,  he  was  so  changed  in  appearance  that  his 
wife,  whom  he  had  parted  with  only  about  three 
months  before,  did  not  recognize  him.  But  soon 
the  hand  of  love  wstS  binding  up  his  bleeding  and 
blistered  feet.  The  four  natives,  who  had  mourned 
for  Dr.  Kincaid  as  dead,  came  in  a  few  weeks  later, 
having  suffered  many  privations  and  tortures  be- 
tween their  first  escape  and  arrival  in  Ava,  where 
they  rejoiced  with  great  joy  to  find  living,  though 
not  yet  well,  him  they  had  mourned  as  dead. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

THE   COUNTRY   AND   CUSTOMS. 

While  this  tour  of  exploration  was  regarded  by 
all  the  missionaries  as  very  important,  it  was  also 
regarded  as  very  hazardous. 

Many  of  the  river  villages  were  then  robber 
nests  or  dens,  the  vocations  of  whose  people  was  to 
prey  on  other  villages  and  the  boats  that  passed 
up  or  down  the  river. 

To  make  such  a  tour  by  land  was  next  to  an 
impossible  undertaking,  as  up  to  this  time  no  pro- 
visions were  made  either  by  the  general  govern- 
ment or  by  the  local  authorities  to  make  roads  or 
build  bridges. 

It  was  a  very  rare  thing  in  Burma  to  meet  with 
anything  that  would  in  America  be  called  a  road. 

The  only  roads  in  the  empire  were  those  leading 
into  the  larger  towns  and  cities. 

if  a  loaded  ox  could  pick  his  way  and  get  over 
ten  miles  a  day  the  road  was  regarded  as  good. 

Ferries  were  kept  on  some  of  the  larger  streams, 


122  KINCAID,   THE  HERO  MISSIONARY. 

the  smaller  ones  the  missionaries  might  wade 
or  employ  natives  to  carry  them  over. 

The  soil  was  very  rich  and  fertile,  capable 
of  yielding  the  most  bountiful  harvests,  but  the 
oppressed  and  indolent  people,  with  their  rude 
implements  and  very  limited  knowledge  of  agri- 
culture, got  only  a  tithe  of  the  possible  harvests 
from  these  fertile  valleys. 

They  kept  large  herds  of  red  cattle,  but  in  most 
villages  cows  were  never  milked,  and  as  the  Bur- 
man  religion  forbids  the  slaughter  of  cattle,  their 
use  was  quite  limited.  They  were  used  in  plough- 
ing sometimes,  and  as  pack  animals  and  to  draw 
carts.  Horses  were  never  used  for  any  other  pur- 
pose than  riding,  were  never  harnessed  or  worked, 
hence  were  not  regarded  as  of  the  same  value 
they  are  to  many  other  countries.  Fowls  were 
very  abundant  and  grown  mainly  for  fighting  pur- 
poses, a  cruel  sport  of  which  the  natives  were 
found  to  be  passionately  fond.  The  men  would 
gather  themselves  into  groups  under  the  shade  of 
the  large  trees  in  the  heat  of  the  day  and  greatly 
enjoyed  themselves  watching  the  movements  of 
these  feathered  warriors. 

Women  were  very  rarely,   if  ever,   seen  about 


THE  COUNTRY  AND  CUSTOMS.  1 23 

such  places.  They  were  much  more  industrious 
than  the  men  and  were  generally  employed  in 
some  way  to  profit. 

At  Katha,  once  a  city  of  note,  located  on  a  beau- 
tiful rolling  plat  of  ground  on  the  west  bank  of 
the  river,  a  most  beautiful  valley,  of  very  product- 
ive soil,  stretches  for  miles  to  the  east  and  south, 
dotted  here  and  there  with  villages.  To  the  north 
and  west  the  country  is  irregular  and  rough. 

February  i2th,  1837,  they  stopped  at  a  village 
on  an  island  in  the  river.  It  was  about  sixty  feet 
from  the  water  up  to  the  crest  of  the  island,  which 
was  covered  and  shaded^  with  most  noble  tamarind 
and  palm  trees.  The  local  situation  was  most 
pleasant.  The  view  from  the  island  of  these  sur- 
rounding^ was  grand. 

Pushing  forward  at  early  dawn,  before  noon  they 
were  compelled  by  a  driving  storm  to  lay  by  and 
warm.  The  natives  were  very  kind,  and  cheer- 
fully built  fires  for  the  half  naked  and  benumbed 
boatmen.  Here  Dr.  Kincaid  met  some  traders 
from  the  north,  from  whom  he  obtained  some  val- 
uable information.  These  traders  were  Ka  Khyens, 
no  doubt  a  branch  of  the  great  Karen  family. 
"They  have    no  object  of  worship,   no  rites,   no 


124  KINCAID,  THE  HERO  MISSIONARY. 

priesthood,  and  yet  had  some  idea  of  a  supreme 
being." 

They  had  a  tradition  that  they  once  possessed 
books,  but  lost  them.  "They  had  no  tradition  of 
ever  having  a  king,  or  ever  being  consolidated  in 
an  empire.  Their  government  was  patriarchal." 
They  had  been  oppressed  by  the  Shyans,  Burmans 
and  Chinese,  the  only  governments  of  which  they 
had  any  knowledge.  Their  traditions  are  all 
handed  down  in  song,  in  which  all  join,  from  the 
oldest  to  the  youngest.  The  dead  are  not  burned, 
but  buried  with  becoming  solemnity.  They  are 
an  agricultural  people,  growing  rice,  cotton,  to- 
bacco and  maize,  or  Indian  corn,  but  recently 
introduced  in  the  country,  which  they  eat  in  the 
milk. 

The  females  spin  and  weave  and  dye  their  own 
cloth,  and  assist  in  cultivating  the  land.  They 
never  intermarry  with  other  people. 

They  regarded  the  Burmans  as  their  natural  ene- 
mies, by  whom  they  have  been  taxed  and  oppressed 
to  the  very  last  point  of  endurance.  Wars  have 
been  frequent  and  determined,  and  woe  to  the 
Burmans  or  Shyans  who  have  dared  to  follow  these 


THE  COUNTRY  AND  CUSTOMS.  1 35 

Ka  Khyens  into  the  fastnesses  of  their  own  mount- 
ain homes. 

This  visit  of  Dr.  Kincaid  through  the  northern 
part  of  the  Burman  Empire  was  the  first  attempt 
to  carry  the  gospel  into  those  unexplored  portions 
of  the  empire  north  of  the  capital,  and  was  vastly 
more  important  than  conceived  by  many.  Al- 
though his  stay  was  very  brief  and  his  work  quite 
limited  among  the  multitudes  in  the  northern  half 
of  the  empire,  himself  robbed  and  his  life  jeopar- 
dized and  threatened,  both  by  the  men  whom  he 
went  to  bless,  and  the  wild  beasts  whose  lair  he 
must  pass  in  fleeing  from  the  murderous  outlaws 
and  bands  of  robbers  who  sought  to  render  escape 
impossible. 

Those  who  look  on  the  development  of  missions 
in  later  years  will  readily  admit,  I  think,  that  this 
visit  brief,  hazardous  and  unpromising  as  it  at 
first  seemed  to  be,  was  the  entering  wedge  to  open 
the  northern  half  of  that  great  empire  to  the  gos- 
pel. It  was  no  "fool's  errand,"  no  "  fruitless 
mission;"  but  was  the  dawning  of  a.  new  era. 
That  visit  carried  the  first  rays  of  light  and  life 
into  many  homes  and  hearts  in  half  that  vast  em- 


126  KINCAID,  THE  HERO  MISSIONARY. 

pire,  over  which  the  great  curtain  of  heathenism 
hung  heavy  and  low. 

And  while  comparatively  few  heard  of  Jesus  or 
his  great  salvation  from  the  missionary's  own  lips, 
enough  was  heard  to  start  the  inquiry  among  the  Ka 
Khyens  and  Karens  as  to  whether  the  strange  white 
teacher,  in  his  visit,  did  not  at  least  begin  the  fulfill- 
ment of  that  very  ancient  tradition  among  them 
that  ''''some  time  a  messenger  will  come  and  restore 
the  book  our  carelessness  permitted  a  dog  to  carry 
away  and  destroy. " 

This  country  abounded  with  plenty,  and  was  re- 
garded by  Dr.  Kincaid  as  the  easiest  place  for  a 
mere  living  of  any  country  he  ever  visited.  The 
lakes  and  streams  were  bountifully  supplied  with 
choice  varieties  of  fish,  and  fowls  were  very 
abundant. 

On  excursions  often  made  through  the  country, 
tjjey  were  compelled  to  sleep  on  bamboo  platforms, 
made  on  top  of  four  posts  stood  in  the  ground,  per- 
haps eight  by  ten  feet  square,  and  eighteen  or 
twenty  feet  high,  which  they  ascended  by  means 
of  a  rope  ladder  that  was  drawn  up  after,  to  pre- 
vent reptiles  and  wild  beasts  from  becoming  too 
familiar.     Wild  beasts  were  frequently  encountered, 


THE  COUNTRY  AND  CUSTOMS.  1 27 

but  Dr.  Kincaid  was  fortunate  in  never  being  per- 
sonally attacked. 

I  would  be  glad  to  pursue  this  descriptive  chap- 
ter further,  but  hasten  to  record  in  the  next  some 
of  the  conditions  attending  Dr.  Kincaid' s  arrival 
at  home,  together  with  the  sad  state  of  the  whole 
country  because  of  the  revolution  that  placed 
Prince  Thur-ra-wa-di  on  the  throne  of  the  Bur- 
man  empire. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

REACHING   HOME  —  THE    REVOLUTION  —  CHANGING 
FIELDS. 

Blistered  and  bleeding  and  scorched  with  the  sun, 
At  last  his  perilous  journey  was  done; 
His  wife  thought  a  stranger  appioaching  the  door, 
Nor  had  she  e'er  seen  such  a  stranger  before. 

A  native  or  foreigner,  who  can  it  be  ? 

That  seems  like  one  familiar  to  me. 

Ah  !  relic  of  manhood — thou  joy  of  my  life  ! 

What  has  made  thee  unknown  to  thy  wife  ?  « 

Spared  art  thou  yet,  thanks  be  to  God; 
But  why  has  fallen  so  heavy  the  rod? 
"Calm  down,  dear  wife,  and  bind  up  each  wound. 
Whence  my  blood  has  marked  each  step  on  the  ground." 

Poor  mortal,  what  suffering,  and  why  must  it  be  ? 
Have  wild  beasts  or  bandits  had  fast  hold  on  thee  ? 
"In  perils  with  both,  and  more  than  one  band, 
Yet  God  hath  delivered  with  His  loving  hand,'' 

On  his  arrival  home  from  his  perilous  journey, 
March  nth,  Dr.  Kincaid  found  the  city  full  of 
distressing  alarms.  Prince  Thur-ra-wa-di  had 
risen  against  and  dethroned  his  brother,  and  the 
whole  country  presented  heartrending  scenes  and 
desolation.     The  empire  was  laid  waste,  half  the 


THE   REVOLUTION.  1 29 

population  had  been  robbed,  and  war  was  raging 
in  all  the  distant  provinces.  The  capital  and 
neighboring  cities  had  also  been  invested  with  his 
armies,  and  so  great  was  the  danger  that  threat- 
ened the  mission  families  that,  for  a  few  days,  they 
took  shelter  under  the  roof  of  Colonel  Burney,  the 
English  resident.  During  the  continuance  of  the 
war  and  after  the  new  king  had  ascended  the  throne, 
sanguine  hopes  were  cherished  that  the  prospects 
of  the  mission  would  become  more  encouraging. 
The  character  of  the  prince  seemed  to  warrant  such 
expectations.  He  had  always  sought  for  intercourse 
with  foreigners,  and  had  been  remarkable  for  the 
liberality  of  his  opinions. 

He  had  expressed  his  disapproval  of  the  exclusive 
jealous  policy  of  the  government,  and  often  had  he 
spoken  against  the  annoyance  given  the  mission- 
aries, especially  the  vexatious  manner  of  the  gov- 
ernment's treatment  of  Dr.  Kincaid.  But  hope 
was  doomed  to  a  sad  disappointment,  as  within 
sixty  days  the  new  king  had  expressed  himself 
averse  to  the  American  teachers,  and  that  he  should 
order  a  discontinuance  of  their  labors.  As  he  was 
a  very  learned  man  and  stood  high  in  Burma,  and 
had  shown  special  kindness  as  a  prince  to  Dr.  Kin- 


130  KINCAID,  THE  HERO  MISSIONARY. 

caid,  there  was  great  significance  in  the  report  of 
such  a  stand  being  taken  against  the  missionaries. 
So  Dr.  Kincaid  at  once  sought  an  interview  with 
the  king.  The  king  received  him  with  evident 
marks  of  kindness,  and  declared  that  he  was  not, 
personally,  unfriendly  towards  him.  "But,  now 
being  king  of  Burma,  he  was  tha-tha-na-da-ya-ka 
(defender  of  the  faith),  and  must  support  the  religion 
of  the  country,  and  said  to  Dr.  Kincaid,  'You  must 
give  no  more  of  Christ's  books.' 

This  was  said  in  the  presence  of  the  whole 
assembled  court,  and  implied  that  the  royal  will 
must  not  be  trifled  with. 

Thus  surrounded,  and  with  almost  absolute  cer- 
tainty of  a  war  between  the  British  government 
and  the  new  king,  it  was  deemed  best  to  leave  the 
capital,  at  least  for  a  time. 

On  June  17th,  Dr.  Kincaid  withdrew  from  Ava, 
after  a  residence  of  about  four  years,  in  which  time 
he  had  learned  and  suffered  much.  But  while  the 
capital  afforded  opportunity  of  meeting  people  from 
all  parts  of  the  empire,  and  sending  the  gospel  by 
single  copies  out  into  a  thousand  channels,  twenty- 
seven  members  were  left  in  the  church  at  Ava. 
When  Dr.  Kincaid  arrived  at  Rangoon,  July  6th, 


THE  REVOLUTION.  I,j 

he  found  the  missionaries  already  gone  to  Maul- 
main  in  consequence  of  the  threatened  revolution, 
and  the  decrees  of  the  viceroy  against  them.' 
Hastening  on  to  Mergui  by  way  of  Maulmain  and 
Tavoy,  he  made  this  his  temporary  home,  while 
visiting  and  preaching  at  points  of  interest  in  the 
adjacent  country,  and  wherever  he  went  blessings 
attended  his  efforts. 

In  a  village  twenty-five  miles  from  Mergui  the 
people  eagerly  listened  to  the  word  of  life,  and  a 
congregation  of  about  one  hundred  joined  in  the 
worship  with  interest.  Visible  results  attended 
every  visit  to  this  place,  and  it  was  his  privilege  to 
administer  the  Lord's  supper  here  to  a  church  num- 
bering thirty-six  happy  converts. 

About  one  hundred  and  fifty  miles  south  of 
Mergui  and  thirty  miles  from  the  Tenasserim 
coast.  Dr.  Kincaid  visited  among  the  islands, 
where  he  found  a  people  in  the  most  abject  pov- 
erty and  degradation.  The  islands  were  densely 
wooded  and  of  nearly  every  size  and  form,  some 
are  low  and  level,  others  mountainous,  with  wild 
and  craggy  shores.  The  climate  is  so  delightfully 
pleasant,  one  instinctively  exclaims,  What  a  beau- 
tiful world  !      A  thousand  green  islands  and  islets. 


132  KINCAID,  THE  HERO  MISSIONARY. 

gorgeous  with    the    beauty    of   nature   and  dense 
with  life. 

Here  Dr.  Kincaid  found  a  people  free  from  all 
religion.  They  had  no  God,  no  temple,  no  priest, 
no  liturgy,  no  holy  day,  no  prayers.  Of  God  and 
immortality  they  had  never  heard.  They  were 
free  from  all  conventional  rules  in  their  domestic 
habits.  They  had  no  houses,  no  gardens,  no  cul- 
tivated fields,  no  domestic  animals,  except  dogs. 
He  says,  "Such  abject  poverty  and  such  degrada- 
tion, such  entire  destitution  of  all  the  comforts  of 
life  I  never  saw.  I  have  been  five  days  among 
them  teaching  them  the  knowledge  of  God."  "I 
have  resorted  to  every  method  of  instruction,  in 
order  to  reach  their  understanding;  with  what 
success  is  known  only  to  God."  Two  evenings 
many  of  them  remained  until  a  late  hour;  on  the 
last  evening  Dr.  Kincaid  urged  them  to  pray  now 
to  the  Eternal  God,  of  whom  they  had  now  heard, 
and  repeated  for  them  three  or  four  short  prayers, 
when  by  their  urgent  request  he  taught  them  one 
of  three  or  four  sentences  and  then  asked  them  if 
they  would  forsake  all  sin  and  serve  the  great  God 
who  made  heaven  and  earth,  when  some  eighty  or 
one  hundred  immediately  replied,  "I  will,  I  will." 


THE  REVOLUTION.  1 33 

He  then  told  them  about  the  Karens,  their  conver- 
sion and  learning  to  read.  They  unitedly  urged 
Dr.  Kincaid  to  come  and  live  with  them  on  their 
islands,  promising  that  they  would  all  learn  to 
read  and  become  Christians. 

His  passage  over  the  Tenasserm  Mountains  was 
full  of  interest.  After  a  six  hours'  march  he  ar- 
rived at  the  foot  of  the  mountains  and  put  up  for 
the  night.  Here  he  found  two  families  living  in 
solitude,  and  to  his  great  joy  among  them  he  found 
four  persons  whom,  he  had  baptized.  They  gave 
him  a  most  cordial  welcome,  spread  a  mat  on  the 
veranda,  brought  water  for  washing  and  drinking, 
dressed  a  fowl  for  his  dinner,  and  did  everything 
that  kindness  and  Christian  courtesy  could  dictate. 

While  but  four  in  these  two  families  had  been 
baptized,  no  less  than  sixteen  of  them  were  be- 
lievers in  Christ,  and  gave  credible  evidence  of  a 
change  of  heart. 

Leaving  these  Christian  friends,  Dr.  Kincaid 
started  on  his  toilsome  journey  over  the  mount- 
ains, not  in  destitution,  fleeing  from  the  merciless 
robbers,  but  hastening  to  fill  the  destitute  with  the 
word  of  life.      He  says: 

"We  set  off  in  Indian  file,  for  more  than  three 


134  KINCAID,  THE  HERO  MISSIONARY. 

hours  wending  our  way  along  the  bed  of  a  mount- 
ain stream,  sometimes  only  two  or  three  feet  deep. 
On  either  side  the  mountains  rose  up  to  a  great 
height." 

In  many  places  the  stream  was  filled  with  brush 
and  fallen  trees,  over  which  they  had  to  climb 
where  practicable,  but  often  they  were  obliged  to 
creep  on  their  hands  and  feet  for  fifteen  or  twenty 
feet  together. 

After  reaching  the  head  of  this  stream  they 
ascended  a  high  range  of  mountains,  which 
stretches  along  from  north  to  south  between  the 
Tenasserim  and  the  ocean. 

From  exhaustion  Dr.  Kincaid  was  obliged  to  lie 
down  and  rest  a  number  of  times  before  the  top  of 
the  mountain  was  reached. 

The  mountains  they  found  to  be  irregular,  pre- 
cipitous, and  covered  with  a  dense  forest.  They 
traveled  for  about  four  hours  amidst  these  wild  and 
rugged  mountains,  often  having  no  other  path  than 
that  made  by  wild  elephants  and  tigers. 

This  was  their  own  undisputed  territory,  and  if 
one  may  judge  from  the  evidences  on  every  hand, 
must  conclude  they  are  quite  numerous.  Mon- 
keys, too,  in  countless  numbers,  ranged  the  forests 


THE  REVOLUTION.  1 35 

of  this,  their  native  home.  There  are  several  fam- 
ilies of  these,  some  quite  large,  without  tails,  and 
the  Karens  tell  us  they  are  very  bold  and  savage, 
often  attacking  travelers,  if  but  one  or  two  are 
found  together.  When  great  numbers  join  in  en- 
couraging an  attack,  they  engage  in  deafening 
yells,  and  the  only  security  against  them  is  in  set- 
ting fire.  They,  like  other  wild  animals,  are 
afraid  of  fire. 

Mountain  storms  are  terrific,  yet  full  of  grandeur. 
For  nearly  two  weeks  the  weather  had  been  suffo- 
cating, with  thunder  storms  every  evening.  Some 
times  the  roll  of  the  thunder  is  so  continuous  and 
loud  it  is  difficult  to  make  one  hear  only  a  few  feet 
away. 

About  4  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  the  clouds  began 
to  gather  in  dense,  black  masses,  and  as  the  Karens 
told  them  storms  were  much  more  severe  in  the 
mountains  than  on  the  plains  below,  they  halted 
for  the  night,  and  began  to  provide  what  shelter 
they  could  against  the  gathering  storm,  rapidly 
approaching  them.  Dr.  Kincaid  was  too  much  ex- 
hausted to  do  more  than  give  some  directions.  In 
less  than  an  hour  a  comfortable  shelter  was  -pro- 
vided, and  before  their  meal  was  ready  the  storm 


136  KINCAID,  THE  HERO  MISSIONARY. 

was  Upon  them,  and  with  one  or  two  possible  ex- 
ceptions, this  was  the  most  terrific  they  had  ever 
witnessed.  The  whole  atmosphere  appeared  to  be 
a  living  mass  of  fire.  There  was  a  continued  roar 
of  thunder,  mingled,  almost  every  breath,  with 
sharp,  deafening  peals,  like  the  discharge  of  heavy 
artillery.  The  rain,  too,  was  poured  out  in  tor- 
rents. The  awful  grandeur  of  the  scene,  however, 
banished  all  thought  of  inconvenience  and  dis- 
comfort. 

Time  passed  unnoted,  hours  seemed  but  minutes; 
and  there  was  neither  room  for  levity  nor  sadness. 
The  huge  masses  of  clouds,  hurrying  on,  rolled  up 
and  down  the  sides  of  the  lofty  and  rugged  mount- 
ains.  The  blazing  atmosphere,  the  incessant  roll 
of  thunder,  and  the  torrents  of  rain,  accompanied 
with  strong  gales  of  wind,  altogether  formed  a 
scene  most  impressively  sublime. 

The  next  morning  two  of  the  company  were 
suffering  with  fever.  One,  a  fine  young  fellow, 
after  two  or  three  efforts,  sank  to  the  ground,  unable 
to  walk.  Dr.  Kincaid  had  fever  during  the  night, 
but  was  well  in  the  morning,  and  set  out  at  an 
early  hour,  and  reached  the  Tenasserim  that  day 
in  the  afternoon,  about  one  hundred  and  forty  or 


THE  REVOLUTION.  1 37 

one  hundred  and  fifty  miles  above  Mergui.  They 
passed  that  day  through  some  of  the  wildest 
scenery  of  nature,  most  of  the  way  without  the 
slightest  evidence  that  any  human  being  had  been 
there  before  them.  Dr.  Kincaid  says  :  "I  suppose 
we  walked  half  the  distance  in  the  channel  of  a 
stream,  having,  some  part  of  the  way,  a  most 
welcome  sandy  bottom,  with  only  a  few  inches  of 
water ;  then  again  rocky  and  precipitous,  with 
occasional  deep  basins,  taking  us  near  to  the  chin 
in  water. 

Tracks  of  the  rhinoceros,  elephant,  tiger,  deer, 
wild  hog,  and  monkey  were  everywhere  seen.  Their 
hard  beaten  and  frequent  paths  give  one  an  idea  of 
their  fearful  numbers. 

There  was  no  spot  of  barren  earth  to  be  seen. 
Vegetation  in  wild  luxuriance  grew  everywhere, 
So  one  could  scarcely  check  the  desire  to  see  civil- 
ization impart  its  magic  touch  to  that  fertile  soil, 
and  utilize  its  wasted  force. 

The  Tenasserim  is  not  so  long  or  large  as  many 
of  the  rivers  in  Burma  or  Siam,  but  at  this  place 
is  about  one  hundred  yards  wide. 

The    chief    who   had   visited    Dr.    Kincaid    at 
Mergui  two  or  three  times,  had  been  expecting  his 
10 


138  KINCAID,  THE  HERO  MISSIONARY. 

arrival  for  some  weeks.  He  had  built  a  zayat,  in 
which  himself  and  neighbors  met  on  the  Sabbath 
to  worship  the  Christian's  God.  In  the  five  houses 
in  this  small  hamlet  were  thirty-two  or  thirty -three 
souls.  Two  or  three  miles  distant  were  other  ham- 
lets, where  the  people  were  sitting  in  the  shades  of 
death — enemies  to,  or  wholly  ignorant  of  God. 

At  early  lamp-lighting  all  came  to  hear  the  gos- 
pel. The  first  text  used  there  was:  "And  as 
Moses  lifted  up  the  serpent  in  the  wilderness,  even 
so  must  the  Son  of  Man  be  lifted  up." 

The  next  day  was  the  Sabbath,  and  messengers 
were  dispatched  to  other  hamlets  to  notify  them  of 
the  arrival  of  the  American  teacher,  and  invite 
them  to  come  and  hear  the  gospel.  A  part  of  the 
day  was  spent  in  examining  the  candidates  for  bap- 
tism. A  second  sermon  was  preached  at  half  past 
ten  in  the  morning,  after  which  the  examination 
of  candidates  was  resumed,  and  four  persons  bap- 
tized in  the  Tenasserim  about  4  o'clock  in  the 
afternoon. 

After  commending  the  little  church  to  the  care 
of  God,  and  promising  to  send  them  a  teacher,  if 
possible,  he  turned  reluctantly  away  from  that  lit- 
tle bethel. 


THE  RKVOLUTION.  1 39 

Visiting  two  other  hamlets,  and  preaching  Christ 
to  the  people,  they  put  up  for  the  night  on  a  sand- 
bank, not  daring  to  fasten  to  the  shore  on  account 
of  tigers.  Only  two  days  before  a  Karen  had  been 
seized  and  carried  off,  though  seven  or  eight  men 
were  with  him,  and  made  every  effort  to  save  him. 
The  whole  country  is  wild  and  mountainous,  and 
covered  with  heavy  forests. 

Every  day  found  Dr.  Kincaid  active  in  visiting 
hamlet  and  village  and  hut  and  home,  preaching  to 
a  people  whom  he  regarded  as  the  "good  ground" 
spoken  of  by  the  Master,  while  the  Burmans  fitly 
represented  the  "wayside." 

Some  miles  distant  he  visited  the  greatest  Karen 
chief  in  his  province.  This  chief  had  a  large 
house,  and,  for  a  Karen,  was  wealthy.  He  soon 
learned  who  the  American  teacher  was,  and 
affected  great  indifference  to  his  message;  put  on 
haughty  airs;  said  Christ's  religion  was  turning  the 
heads  of  his  people,  and  hinted  that  he  was  not  so 
insane  as  to  forsake  the  old  paths  trodden  for  ages 
by  his  fathers.  He  spoke  Burman  fluently  and 
correctly,  which  was  no  small  attainment  for  a 
Karen,  as  they  can  never  pronounce  a  word  that 
ends  with  a  consonant. 


140 

Dr.  Kincaid  com  in  ended  him  for  adopting  new 
sentiments  with  extreme  cantion,  and  never  with- 
out clear  evidence  of  their  truth;  then  added, 
"Your  fathers  were  more  enlightened  than  mine, 
for  they  knew  the  name  of  Jehovah,  and  in  every 
age  they  rejected  idolatry.  I  preach  to  you  now 
the  Jehovah  of  your  fathers  and  ofter  you  instruc- 
tion from  the  book  which  he  has  given."  Not 
allowing  him  to  reply.  Dr.  Kincaid  proceeded  to 
read  several  passages  from  the  New  Testament, 
and  appealed  to  his  own  apprehension  of  truth,  if 
these  things  did  not  commend  themselves  to  his 
conscience. 

His  airs  were  gone;  and  with  altered  tone  he 
acknowledged  that  he  often  thought  the  religion 
of  Christ  true. 

He  said,  some  months  since,  he  had  a  child 
very  ill,  and  made  offerings  to  the  Nats,  but 
his  child  died.  He  made  a  solemn  promise  then 
that  he  would  never  make  such  offerings  again; 
but  said  he  had  tried  to  give  up  drinking  spirits 
and  could  not,  and  so  could  not  be  a  disciple  of 
Christ.  He  was  urged  to  believe  in  Christ  as  the 
only  way  to  obtain  eternal  life.  He  was  urgent 
with  entreaties  that  the  missionary  return  again. 


THE  REVOLUTION.  141 

And  though  every  kindness  was  shown  him, 
and  the  fields  were  whitening  rapidly  to  the 
reaper's  hand,  Dr.  Kincaid  longed  to  return  to  the 
capital,  where  the  multitudes  jostle  together, 
in  the  hope  that  the  fierce  opposition  might  be 
broken  down,  and  the  forces  wasted  in  evil  might 
be  utilized  for  the  glory  of  God  and  the  spread  of 
his  gospel. 

So  in  the  autumn  of  1838  he  supplied  his  place 
at  Mergui  and  hastened  to  Maulmain,  hoping 
to  proceed  at  once  to  the  royal  city,  but  finding  it 
injudicious  to  proceed  further  just  then,  he  sent 
two  of  the  native  disciples,  Moung  Na  Gua  and 
Moung  Tha  Oung,  to  visit  the  church  at  Ava.  It 
was  only  a  short  time  until  he  received  the  follow- 
ing letter  from  one  who  had  remained  at  the 
capital. 

My  Beloved  Teacher,  Kincaid: — After  reach- 
ing Ava  and  finding  my  parents,  I  lost  no  time  till 
I  found  out  the  residence  of  all  the  disciples.  Some 
of  them  have  removed  to  Amarapura,  and  they  are 
so  scattered  that  they  do  not  meet  oftener  than 
once  a  month,  some  once  in  two  months.  Soon 
after  getting  to  Ava  I  wrote  a  letter,  and  on  desiring 
to  take  it  to  the  English  residents,   the  Burman 


142  KINCAID,  THE  HERO  MISSIONARY. 

officers  forbade  me,  saying,  'There  was  no  permis- 
sion to  go  or  to  send  letters.  Besides  this,  a  priest 
went  merely  to  see  the  English,  and  was  seized  and 
taken  away  to  execution,  so  that  I  did  not  dare  to 
send  you  a  letter. 

Now,  feeling  a  great  desire  to  write  to  you,  I 
have  gone  secretly  to  a  foreign  merchant,  and  he 
will  send  the  letter.  After  this  I  hope  to  be  able 
to  send  you  letters  often.  Not  long  after  getting 
to  Ava,  Ma-ee,  the  daughter  of  Ko-shwa-nee,  died. 
After  this,  Moung-moung  died  of  fever,  and  was 
only  ill  three  days. 

The  disciples  here  are  like  sheep  without  a  shep- 
herd, and  are  anxiously  looking  for  the  time  when 
the  teachers  can  come.  I  wish  much  to  return  to 
you,  teacher,  but  my  father  and  mother  are  old  and 
very  infirm,  and  cannot  get  about  well,  so  that  I 
must  remain  and  support  them  by  my  labor.  When 
the  disciples  meet,  they  consult  together  about 
fleeing  from  this  city  to  Maulmain,  but  as  yet  dare 
not  make  the'  attempt.  The  disciples  remain 
strong  in  the  faith  of  Christ,  and  pray  to  God 
continually.  The  writer,  Ko-shwa-nee,  is  perse- 
veringly   preaching  the  gospel. 


THE  REVOLUTION.  1 43 

New-dong-gee  and  Moung-you  come  to  Ko-shwa- 
nee's  house  every  three  or  four  days,  and  reason 
with  him  about  the  law  of  God. 

To  the  beloved  teacher,  from 

MOUNG-OO-DOUNG. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

A  GRACIOUS  WORK  IN  ARRACAN. 

"He  shall  come  down  like  rain  upon  the  mown 
grass;  as  showers  that  water  the  earth.  They  that  are 
in  the  wilderness  shall  bow  before  him. — Psahn  Ixii,  6-g. 

Writing  from  Maulmain  January  20th,  1840,  Dr. 
Kincaid  gave  his  reasons  for  going  to  Arracan, 
prominent  among  which  was  that  no  real  mission- 
ary work  could  be  done  where  he  was.  I^ike  the 
merchants,  they  could  have  staid  in  their  houses 
and  held  the  fields,  if  this  were  all  to  be  done. 
There  was  no  difficulty  about  living  in  Burma. 
But  they  could  not  teach,  as  the  people  dare  not  go 
near  the  missionaries.  Another  field  opened  ' '  The 
command  was  plain.  'If  they  persecute  you  in 
one  city,  flee  to  another. '  Paul  at  on^  time  was 
forbidden  of  the  Spirit  to  preach  the  word  in  Asia; 
nor  was  he  supposed  to  go  into  Bithynia,  because, 
in  the  divine  arrangement,  he  must  first  preach  the 
gospel  to  a  people  made  ready  in  Macedonia." 

Results  justify  the  inference  that  God  called  Dr. 
Kincaid  at  the  time  out  of  Burma  into  Arracan. 


WORK  IN  ARRACAN.  1 45 

lyocating  at  Akyab  he  zealously  prosecuted  his 
work,  and  soon  was  permitted  to  see  most  wonder- 
ful displays  of  God's  peace. 

He  wrote  May  4th,  1840:  ''I  preach  three 
times  on  the  Sabbath  in  my  own  house,  and  four 
times  during  the  week  at  three  different  places  in 
town.  My  hearers  vary  in  number  from  twenty- 
two  to  over  one  hundred,  while  from  five  to  twenty 
come  to  the  house  every  day.  The  heat  is  rarely 
below  90°,  and  much  of  the  time  is  95"  to  97°  in 
the  coolest  place  about  the  house.  My  two  native 
assistants  are  all  I  could  wish.  They  labor  hard  to 
win  souls  to  Christ.  From  one  hundred  to  two 
hundred  persons  hear  the  gospel  daily.  Many  dis- 
pute with  an  ingenuity  and  earnestness  well 
calculated  to  put  to  shame  the  'idle  and  ease-lov- 
ing ministers  of  Christ. '  It  is  often  truly  affecting 
to  see  the  deep  workings  of  the  Spirit,  and  the 
anxiety  in  mustering  arguments  to  sustain  that 
religion  revered  and  trusted  by  them  for  many  gen- 
erations past.  All  false  religions  walk  together  in 
fellowship,  but  the  uncompromising  claims  of  the 
gospel,  when  they  do  not  compel  respect  and 
attention,  awaken  the  most  bitter  opposition.  The 
heathen  are  accustomed  to  respect  all   religions, 


146  KINCAID,  THE  HERO  MISSIONARY. 

because  they  regard  them  as  adapted  to  the  various 
circumstances  and  wants  of  different  nations." 

They  are  often  pleased,  therefore,  with  the  gos- 
pel at  first;  but  when  they  come  to  understand  its 
fearful  denunciations  against  idolatry  and  all  un- 
righteousness of  men,  that  it  pronounces  the  whole 
world  in  a  state  of  apostacy  from  God,  that  all 
men  without  faith  are  without  God,  without  hope 
and  must  perish  forever;  and  that  the  gospel  is  the 
only  system  of  truth,  and  the  only  refuge  for  the 
whole  race  of  man,  they  either  become  patient 
hearers  or  bitter  opposers,  and  sometimes  take 
refuge  in  infidelity. 

Among  frequent  callers  was  one  of  peculiar 
sentiment  and  high  position,  who  had  been  titled 
by  the  king  of  Ava  M'  ha-don.  He  had  a  con- 
templative turn  of  mind,  and  "one  day,  on.  the 
occasion  of  a  baptism,  this  learned  and  venerable 
man  was  at  the  water  and  joined  in  the  singing  of 
two  hymns,  and  afterwards  paid  the  utmost  atten- 
tion to  all  that  was  said  and  done.  When  the 
converts  came  out  of  the  water,  in  answer  to  the 
question  some  one  put  to  him,  he  replied,  in  an 
earnest  and  elevated  voice,  'This  is  the  true  relig- 
ion,  and  I  must  be  baptized  and  be  a  disciple  of 


WORK  IN  ARRACAN. 


147 


Christ.'  His  constant  attendance  at  worship 
created  a  great  sensation  all  over  the  city.  The 
priests  had  a  meeting  to  inquire  into  the  cause  of 
his  extraordinary  conduct,  and  to  them  in  the  most 
frank  and  open  manner  he  said,  'I  have  found  the 
true  religion  after  worshiping  idols  and  pagodas 
for  more  than  ninety  years. ' 

''About  this  time  Dr.  Kincaid  was  greatly  en- 
couraged by  the  intelligence  that  reached  him  of 
the  wonderful  triumph  of  the  gospel  among  the 
Karens  of  Bassien  Province."  An  occasion  for 
"great  rejoicing  had  its  beginning  in  the  latter 
part  of  1837,  ^^^  its  influence  continued  to  spread 
from  village  to  village  until  converts  were  counted 
by  thousands.  Moung-Shway-Moung,  who  was 
baptized  late  in  1835,  was  appointed  by  the  king 
governor  of  all  the  Karens  in  the  Bassien  Prov- 
ince. He  was  sent  down  from  Ava  in  the  latter 
part  of  1837.  "^^^  Karens  soon  found  he  was  a 
disciple  of  Christ,  and  that  he  would  shield  them 
to  the  utmost  of  his  power  from  oppression  and 
persecution. 

The  Karens  said  "He  was  a  just  man  and  would 
never  take  bribes;  that  on  the  Sabbath  he  closed 
up  his  house  and  remained  alone." 


148  KINCAID,  THE  HKRO  MISSIONARY. 

About  this  time  a  celebrated  young  chief  was 
converted.  "He  possessed  great  energy  and  a 
powerful  intellect,  and  all  his  influence  was  thrown 
into  the  work  of  publishing  the  knowledge  of 
God  among  his  countrymen.  This  revival  was  an 
extraordinary  display  of  divine  grace.  Probably 
two  thousand  souls  were  turned  from  worshiping 
demons  to  the  service  and  worship  of  the  true  and 
living  God.  This,  too,  under  the  reign  of  a  jealous 
and  intolerant  king."  "It  was  God's  glorious 
work. ' ' 

In  the  early  spring  of  1841  the  lamented 
Comstock,  with  his  family,  visited  Akyab  and 
during  his  stay  of  sixteen  days,  joined  Dr.  Kin- 
caid  in  an  interesting  preaching  excursion.  They 
visited  a  number  of  villages  and  the  town  of  Arra- 
can.  Here  they  preached  to  large  and  solemn 
assemblies,  both  in  private  houses  and  in  the  open 
air. 

Some  reviled,  but  the  great  mass  honestly 
acknowledged  they  were  in  the  dark  and  knew  no 
way  of  escape  from  the  pains  and  punishments  of 
hell.  Said  one,  "I  have  lived  seventy  years,  and 
have  labored  to  keep  the  five  great  commands,  and 
have    found    no    peace."      Said    another,    "The 


WORK  IN  ARRACAN.  149 

power  and  glory  of  our  religion  have  long  been 
waning  and  must  entirely  vanish."  Such  senti- 
ments were  common  among  the  people.  "Some 
of  the  villagers  who  received  tracts  and  heard  the 
gospel  during  the  excursion,  soon  afterwards  came 
to  Akyab,  and  were  able  to  repeat  much  of  what 
they  had  heard.  They  also  read  the  ^wonderful 
words^^  and  came  for  more." 

Among  the  interesting  inquirers,  came  one  "of 
much  intelligence  who  confided  in  his  own  wisdom 
and  his  ability  to  defend  his  old  religion,  who  was 
driven  to  yield  one  point  after  another,  until  con- 
fronted by  "the  miraculous  birth  and  deity  of 
Christ, ' '  which  he  regarded  as  a  fable  appended  to 
the  Christian  religion;  but  his  mind  was  not  at 
rest,  his  conscience  was  stirred.  One  day  Dr. 
Kincaid  read  and  explained  for  hours  the  first 
chapter  of  Hebrews.  The  next  day  he  said  to 
Ko-Bike  that  he  read  and  prayed  nearly  all  night 
and  felt  very  unhappy,  for  he  thought  he  should 
not  live  long  and  must  go  to  hell."  He  remained 
in  this  state  of  mind  several  days  when  he  came 
with  joyous  countenance  and  said  he  had  obtained 
peace.  "Now  I  know,"  said  he,  "what  it  is  to 
believe  in  Christ,  for  I  have  the  evidence  within 


150  KINCAID,  THE  HERO  MISSIONARY. 

my  heart."  Another  inquirer  of  the  city  of 
Akyab  is  especially  worthy  of  mention.  He  was 
a  man  possessed  of  great  wealth,  and  had  for  some 
time  been  arranging  to  build  a  large  Kyoung 
(monastery)  and  had  already  spent  many  hundred 
rupees,  when  he  first  heard  the  gospel.  He 
was  so  affected  by  the  truth  as  to  dismiss  his  work- 
men till  he  should  examine  fully  the  claims  of  the 
new  religion. 

Preaching  is  often  interrupted  by  the  heathen 
for  the  purpose  of  asking  questions,  and  after 
preaching  for  about  thirty  minutes  one  warm  night, 
in  a  moonlight  so  clear  Dr.  Kincaid  could  read  by 
it  without  difficulty,  questions  poured  in  so  upon 
him  it  was  impossible  for  him  to  proceed.  On  one 
occasion,  when  he  had  closed  the  book,  one  man 
strongly  defended  Gaudama,  and  a  discussion  of 
nearly  two  hours  ensued,  during  which  one  who 
had  been  a  strong  opposer  of  the  new  religion 
threw  in  valuable  words  of  testimony.  At  last  my 
'  '■  adversary  forsook  the  field  of  argument  and  began 
to  ridicule  and  revile"  his  fellow  as  a  heretic,  say- 
ing: "You  have  become  a  disciple  of  the  cross, 
have  you?  You  join  with  this  foreign  teacher,  do 
you?  to  prove  that  our  god  is  no  god,  and  that  our 


WORK  IN  ARRACAN.  I5I 

religion,  which  has  stood  for  a  -thousand  years,  is 
only  a  cheat  and  a  fable.  Who  will  carry  you  to 
your  grave  when  you  die?  Your  father  and  mother 
will  despise  you,  and  your  brothers  and  sisters  will 
shun  you  as  they  would  a  leper.''  "You  are  like 
a  dog  that  is  coaxed  away  by  a  thief — you  may  as 
well  lick  honey  from  the  edge  of  a  razor  as  to  listen 
to  this  foreigner."  "Very  well,"  replied  my  ally, 
"I  have  reviled  this  religion  and  this  teacher  more 
than  you  have,  but  I  was  a  fool  with  both  eyes 
shut;  his  religion  is  true,  and  everybody  would" 
own  and  accept  and  love  "it  if  they  knew  what  it 
is.  We  make  a  god  of  wood,  put  a  rope  around 
his  neck,  then  carry  him  to  his  own  place,  put  a 
fence  around  him,  and  leave  him  till  the  white  ants 
eat  him  up.  We  would  not  serve  a  thief  so  bad  as 
this.  There  is  as  much  proof  that  Gaudama  was 
a  monkey  as  that  he  was  a  god."  At  this  some 
turned  away  with  their  fingers  in  their  ears,  while 
many  listened  to  the  very  last,  eleven  o'clock  at 
night. 

Perhaps  the  most  interesting  occurrence  in  con- 
nection with  Dr.  Kincaid's  stay  at  Akyab  was  the 
visit  of  Chetza,  the  mountain  chief.  Their  first 
interview  was  in  May,  1841.     Early  in  July  follow- 


152  KINCAID,  THE  HERO  MISSIONARY. 

ing  the  chief  sent  Dr.  Kincaid  an  important  letter, 
revealing  traditions  of  their  people  for  ages  past, 
concerning  a  good  book  God  had  once  given  to  their 
fathers,  and  through  their  carelessness  had  been 
carried  away  by  a  dog  and  destroyed.  This  incurred 
the  divine  displeasure  against  them.  They  could 
now  neither  read  nor  write,  but  were  anxious  to 
know  the  true  God,  and  to  be  taught  the  true  book. 
They  had  looked  for  the  coming  of  a  messenger 
with  a  book  of  light  and  knowledge,  hence  were 
quite  open  to  receive  the  missionary  and  the  Bible, 
at  least  to  find  out  whether  their  traditions  and 
hopes  were  filled  in  Dr.  Kincaid' s  visit  to  them. 

The  letter  -bore  the  name  Chetza,  the  great 
mountain  chief,  with  the  names  of  thirteen  petty 
chiefs,  stating: 

"Our  sons  and  our  daughters  we  will  deliver 
over  to  you  to  be  taught  if  you  will  have  compas- 
sion on  us."  Following  was  a  list  of  two  hundred 
and  seventy-three  names  of  boys  and  girls,  whom 
they  wished  to  place  under  their  care  and  instruc- 
tion. 

Dr.  Kincaid  wrote:  "There  is  something 
singular  and  interesting  in  this  request.  From 
time  immemorial  they  have  held  intercourse  with 


WORK  IN  ARRACAN.  1 53 

the  Biirmaiis,  but  have  resisted  idolatry.  They 
have  looked  with  apathy,  if  not  with  contempt, 
upon  the  imposing  ceremonies  of  Budhism,  its  tem- 
ples and  pagodas,  monasteries,  idols,  shaven-headed 
priests,  its  ten  thousand  burning  tapers,  its 
prostrations,  its  beads,  its  celebrated  shrines,  and 
pilgrimages. '^  Like  the  Karens  in  Tenasserim 
and  in  Burma,  they  looked  for  a  ''good  book,'' 
which  would  tell  them  of  the  true  God. 

Who  can  doubt  the  overruling  providence  of 
God  in  preserving  these  people  from  the  idolatry 
about  them,  and  the  sending  of  his  word  to  them 
in  answer  to  the  call,  "Come  over  and  help  us." 


CHAPTER  XV. 

VISIT  TO  THE  MOUNTAIN  CHIEF. 

"The  dwellers  in  the  caves  and  on  the  rocks 
Shout  to  each  other,  and  the  mountain  tops, 
From  distant  mountains  catch  the  flying  joy." 

Near  the  close  of  the  year  1841  Dr.  Kincaid  per- 
fected arrangements  for  a  visit  to  the  mountains. 
Chetza,  fearing  disappointment,  made  another  visit 
to  Akyab,  urging  Dr.  Kincaid  to  come  at  once  and 
teach  his  people  the  true  religion. 

Accompanied  by  Rev.  L.  Stilson  for  this  pur- 
pose, a  most  interesting  tour  was  undertaken 
December  29th.  Their  journey  and  reception 
among  that  remarkable  people  is  replete  with  inter- 
est near  to  fascination. 

They  crossed  the  spacious  harbor  and  entered  the 
Ko-la-dan,  a  broad  and  noble  river  which  has  its 
sources  in  the  Yuma  Mountains,  far  to  the  north. 

After  ascending  the  Ko-la-dan  between  seventy 
and  eighty  miles,  we  left  the  Burman  population 
and  entered  the  Kemmee  country.     The  change  in 


CHKTZA.  155 

scenery  was  not  less  striking  than  the  change  in 
the  character,  habits  and  manners  of  the  people. 
For  the  last  seventy  miles  before  it  empties  its 
waters  into  the  Akyab  harbor,  the  Ko-la-dan  flows 
through  a  tract  of  level  plain,  dotted  with  villages 
in  every  direction.  Rice  fields  extend  often  as  far 
as  the  eye  can  reach.  The  monotony  is  well 
broken  by  here  and  there  dark,  tangled  forests. 
Neither  fences  nor  hedges  were  employed  to  protect 
the  great  and  wide-spreading  fields. 

The  soil  is  exceedingly  rich,  and  capable  of  pro- 
ducing heavy  yields  of  such  plants,  vegetables  and 
fruits  as  are  adapted  to  that  climate. 

Thirty  miles  from  the  sea  shore  the  land  is 
slightly  elevated,  and  the  mountains  begin  to 
appear  in  the  distance. 

Leaving  the  plains,  so  full  of  small  creeks 
and  rank  growths  as  to  be  a  laboratory  of  most 
deadly  fevers,  we  leave  the  Burman  population, 
and  first  come  to  low  ranges  of  hills  but  constantly 
ascending  until  the  great  tangled  forests  crown  the 
mountain  summits.  The  winding  river  is  broad, 
deep  and  beautiful  and  its  general  course  from 
north  to  south. 

As  they  were  anxious  to  reach  the  home  of  the 


156  KINCAID,  THE  HERO  MISSIONARY. 

chief,  they  visited  but  one  of  the  many  Kemmee 
villages  along  the  river. 

The  landing  was  all  that  indicated  we  were 
approaching  a  village,  as  the  timber  came  down  to 
the  water's  edge,  and  some  boatmen  were  cooking 
their  morning  meal.  Climbing  up  a  steep  bank, 
they  found  a  path  that  led  to  a  village  of  near 
twenty  houses,  surrounded  by  a  neat  and  well-con- 
structed stockade.  ' '  The  gate  being  open,  we  went 
in  but  saw  no  human  being.  After  standing  a  few 
minutes  in  order  to  give  no  unnecessary  alarm, 
and  admiring  the  peculiar  structure  of  their  great 
houses,  the  neat  and  orderly  manner  in  which  they 
were  placed,  that  is,  in  two  rows,  so  as  to  have  a 
broad  street  run  through  the  center,  we  passed  on 
and  finally  went  out  at  the  gate  on  the  oppo- 
site end  of  the  village  and  found  ourselves  stand- 
ing on  the  bank  of  a  noisy  little  brook,  an  object 
of  great  interest  to  us,  as  it  was  the  first  of 
the  kind  we  had  seen  in  Arracan." 

"We  saw  pigs,  goats  and  fowls  in  abundance  and 
began  to  wonder  where  the  inhabitants  could  be, 
as  we  saw  none  and  heard  no  human  voice." 

"We  suspected  that  the  women  and  children  had 
fled  to  the  jungles  when  they  had  learned  of  the 


CHETZA.  icy 

landing  of  strange-looking  foreigners  and  that 
the  men  were  probably  in  the  rice  fields,  as  it  was 
about  ten  o'clock  A.  M. 

While  examining  some  peculiar  trees  that  grew 
on  the  margin  of  the  brook,  a  female  with  a  child 
slung  on  her  back  rose  out  of  grass  only  a  few  feet 
from  us. 

She  appeared  to  be  paralyzed  with  fear,  and  the 
poor  child  dared  not  look  up.  We  were  sorry  our 
appearance  should  be  more  terrifying  than  the 
midnight  growl  of  the  most  ferocious  beast  of 
prey. 

And  we  assured  her  again  and  again  that  she 
had  nothing  to  fear,  which  she  evidently  believed 
as  she  quietly  returned  to  the  village.  Soon 
the  men  began  to  come  in  and  then  the  women 
and  children  from  their  concealment,  each  woman 
with  a  child  on  her  back  and  many  with  from 
three  to  six  following.  The  men  came  and  sat 
down  by  us,  while  the  women  remained  at  a  dis- 
tance or  went  to  their  dwellings. 

Some  of  the  men  could  understand  Burman,  and 
a  few  spoke  it  fairly  well. 

We  stated  that  our  visit  was  in  obedience  to  the 
command  of  God,  to  visit  all  nations  and  instruct 


158  KINCAID,  THE  HERO  MISSIONARY. 

them  in  his  holy  word.  Such  news  proved  inter- 
esting to  them,  and  they  were  quite  ready  to  receive 
books  that  would  enable  them  to  look  into  and 
understand  these  things." 

"We  left  this  interesting,  cleanly  little  village, 
and  the  next  morning  came  to  the  mouth  of  the 
river  Moe,  a  fine  stream  fifty  or  sixty  yards  wide, 
flowing  from  the  north-east.  About  six  miles  up 
this  stream  we  came  to  the  village  where  resides 
the  mountain  chief.  This  beautiful  village  is  sit- 
uated on  a  fine  elevation  about  one  hundred  feet 
above  the  water  level,  in  a  great  bend  of  the  river, 
and  commands  a  beautiful  prospect  in  this  wild  and 
picturesque  country.  Three  other  villages  are  in 
sight,  while  a  fourth  is  not  a  mile  distant.  The 
country  was  in  perfect  contrast  here  with  all  they 
had  seen  for  seventy  miles  above  Akyab. 

Lofty  hills  and  deep  valleys  are  here  thrown 
together  in  the  utmost  confusion. 

Both  hills  and  valleys  are  covered  with  tall  for- 
est trees,  interspersed  with  bamboos,  various  kinds 
of  creepers,  and  in  places  grass  ten  to  twelve  feet 
high." 

For  eight  or  ten  months  the  chief  had  been 
urgent  in  his  requests  for  a  visit,  and  the  establish- 


CHKTZA.  i^g 

merit  of  schools  among  his  people.  It  was  therefore 
to  be  expected  that  a  hearty  reception  awaited  Dr. 
Kincaid  and  the  Rev.  Mr.  Stilson,  and  things 
should  be  made  ready  to  their  hands. 

The  forethought  and  care  of  the  chief,  however, 
surpassed  the  most  sanguine  expectations  of  the 
missionaries. 

A  new,  well  constructed  and  commodious  zayat, 
about  fifty  feet  above  the  water  level,  had  been 
provided  with  pleasant  walks  and  veranda.  But 
their  surprise  was  greatest  to  find  all  ready  for 
their  use  two  very  neat  bamboo  bedsteads,  sur- 
rounded with  curtains.  The^hief  must  have  seen 
a  bedstead  in  the  mission  house  at  Akyab. 

The  building,  bedstead,  and  every  provision 
made  had  been  done  within  two  days'  time. 

When  the  chief  discovered  that  the  missionaries 
had  a  small  folding  table  and  two  chairs  with  them, 
he  was  relieved  of  considerable  anxiety,  as  he  had 
much  anxiety  about  these  articles,  without  any 
idea  as  to  how  they  might  be  constructed.  The 
chief  was  very  kind,  and  exceedingly  desirous 
about  their  comfort. 

The  zayat  was  about  fifty  yards  outside. of  the 
stockade,  and  delightfully  situated.     When  once 


i6o 

arranged  in  their  new  quarters,  they  were  taken  to 
the  home  of  the  mountain  chief.  The  house  itself 
would  indicate  it  to  be  the  dwelling  of  some  great 
man. 

The  floor  was  five  or  six  feet  from  the  ground. 
Crossing  a  large  open  veranda  they  entered  in  front 
the  great  hall  of  audience.  It  was  a  magnificent 
room,  and  from  the  north  afforded  a  most  delight- 
ful view  of  the  country  in  its  native  grandeur.  On 
the  left  of  the  great  veranda  was  a  very  large  apart- 
ment, and  on  the  right  was  a  smaller  one.  These 
belong  to  the  females  and  children. 

His  nine  wives  were  all  busy  at  work  except  one. 
Some  were  cleaning  cotton,  some  spinning,  some 
weaving,  some  cooking.  Each  had  a  child  slung 
on  her  back,  regardless  of  the  kind  of  work  that 
occupied  her,  and  each  one  seemed  cheerful.  The 
wife  who  seemed  to  preside  over  all,  or  to  have 
preference  with  her  husband,  was  a  dignified 
woman  of  no  ordinary  rank — graceful;  and  she 
impressed  one  both  in  appearance  and  manners 
that  nobility  was  innate,  and  not  merely  the  result 
of  position.  Her  countenance  was  intelligent,  her 
temper.mild  and  amiable.  She  impressed  one  with 
the   spirit    of .  contentment   and    happiness.      Her 


CHETZA.  l6l 

knowledge  of  the  Burmese  language  was  not 
extended,  but  she  betrayed  no  signs  of  ignorance. 
Order  and  neatness  prevailed,  so  as  to  make  that 
one  an  exceptional  home.  Indeed,  the  whole  vil- 
lage was  constructed  in  an  orderly  way,  with  a 
view  to  the  comfort  of  its  people,  and  showed  a 
neatness,  regularity  and  order  so  seldom  met,  it 
was  a  pleasant  luxury.  The  Kemmee's  villages 
and  houses  showed  that  more  attention  was  paid  to 
the  arranging  for  the  comfort  of  the  people  than 
with  any  people  yet  visited.  The  clothing  was 
scanty  and  peculiar. 

The  men  wear  turbans,  and  a  four-inch  belt 
around  the  hips  and  between  the  legs;  the  females 
an  upper  jacket  without  sleeves,  and  a  lower  gar- 
ment, reaching  from  the  hips  half  way  down  to  the 
knees. 

It  is  remarkable  that  a  people  of  such  neatness 
^nd  care  in  the  construction  of  houses  and  villages 
should  be  so  sparing  in  raiment.  They  have  ample 
supplies  of  material. 

God  had  preserved  these  people  from  idolatry  and 
kept  alive  among  them  the  tradition  that  the  Su- 
preme Being  had  given  their  fathers  a  good  book^ 
which,     through     their     carelessness,     had     been 


1 62  KINCAID,  THE  HERO  MISSIONARY. 

destroyed  by  a  dog,  but  which,  in  time,  would  be 
restored  to  them,  and  that  they  should  then  become 
a  wise  and  happy  people. 

Dr,  Kincaid,  or  Rev.  L.  Stilson,  preached  the 
gospel  to  these  people  every  evening,  in  the  plain- 
est and  simplest  manner  possible,  but  only  a  few 
understood  the  Burman  language  sufficiently  to 
gain  much  information. 

Those  who  understood  believed,  and  expressed 
the  opinion  that  all  the  Kemmees  would  accept  the 
gospel  when  they  could  understand  it. 

With  the  exception  of  short  intervals,  from 
morning  till  night,  efforts  were  made  to  gather 
words  and  sentences  that  would  enable  them  to 
better  understand  each  other.  These  people  were 
quite  numerous,  as  they  occupied  the  valley  of  this 
great  river  Koladan  and  its  tributaries,  for  a  distance 
of  two  hundred  miles,  and  were  one  of  the  greatest 
branches  of  the  Karen  family. 

The  Khyies  inhabited  the  hill  country  and  the 
great  ranges  of  Yuma  Mountains  to  the  north,  as 
the  Kemmees  do  at  the  south.  From  a  line  eighty 
miles  north  of  Ava,  all  the  hill  country  for  more 
than  three  hundred  miles,  was  inhabited  by  a  peo- 
ple. Dr.   Kincaid  says,    "I  found,  in  all  respects. 


CHETZA.  163 

like  the  Karens,"  and  were  known  as  Ka-khyiens. 
The  Karens,  Kemmees,  Khyiens  and  Ka-Khyiens 
were  evidently  but  so  many  branches  of  the  one 
great  family,  formerly  the  sole  occupants  of  that 
vast  country,  but  had  been  gradually  driven  back 
by  the  Burmans  from  the  valley  of  the  Irrawaddy 
and  from  the  sea  coast. 

When  Dr.  Kincaid  informed  the  mountain  chief 
and  some  of  his  people  of  their  purpose  to  study 
their  language  and  provide  books  that  would  give 
them  knowledge  of  the  true  God,  he  said  this  de- 
cision gave  him  more  joy  than  would  the  reception 
of  thousands  in  gold  and  silver,  for,  said  he,  "the 
gold  and  silver  would  'soon  be  expended,"  and 
neither  his  children  or  people  be  any  better  for  it, 
"but  if  we  have  the  knowledge  of  God  we  shall 
die  in  peace."  Could  the  multitudes  who  have  an 
unholy  greed  for  gain  decide  as  wisely  as  he,  how 
many  more  happy  lives  would  render  the  dying 
easy  and  make  heaven  brighter  and  better  for  their 
presence  there. 

The  village  selected  as  headquarters  for  the 
Kemmee  mission  was  beautiful  and  healthy,  not 
too  far  from  the  interior,  and  yet  far  enough  to  be 


164 

the  center  of  a  number  of  villages,  embracing  three 
thousand  or  more  inhabitants. 

No  foreigner  had  ever  been  north  on  the  river, 
past  the  boundaries  of  Arracan.  The  Burmese 
were  afraid  to  penetrate  the  country,  and  it  was 
quite  difficult  to  get  reliable  information  concerning 
much  of  that  vast  country.  The  Kemmees reported 
two  powerful  bodies  of  people  far  to  the  north, 
Ivung-khe  and  Tsien-du,  who  -differed  somewhat 
from  themselves  in  language.  Beyond  this  little 
could  be  learned. 

The  Kemmees  understood  how  to  make  an  intox- 
icant from  rice,  which  they  used  on  great  occasions. 
They  regarded  evil  spirits  as  the  cause  of  disease 
and  many  calamities,  and  on  some  occasions  offered 
to  these  propitiatory  sacrifices. 

While  they  believed  in  a  Supreme  Being,  the 
immortality  of  the  soul,  future  rewards  and  pun- 
ishments, they  had  no  religious  service. 

They  regarded  theft,  falsehood,  adultery  and 
murder  as  great  crimes.  They  were  proverbially 
a  people  of  one  word. 

Do  not  suppose  from  the  above  statement  that 
the  Kemmees  were  a  harmless  and  unwarlike  peo- 
ple. Feuds  were  frequent,  and  difficulties  rarely 
adjusted  in  an  amicable  way. 


CHETZA.  165 

They  harbored  revenge,  and  sought  opportunity 
to  fall  on  their  foes  at  a  time  when  least  expected 
to  do  so.      They  openly  declared  hostile  intentions. 

The  conquering  party  would  kill  as  many  men 
as  possible,  and  seize  and  carry  away  the  women 
and  children  for  slaves. 

War  did  not  seem  a  natural  element  of  the  Kem- 
mees,  but  rather  a  circumstance — outgrowth  of 
being  driven  back  like  the  x\merican  Indians,  until 
war  seemed  a  last  resort. 

The  introduction  of  books  and  schools  among 
them  laid  the  foundation  for  their  civilization  and 
happiness,  for  that  people  who  gain  a  knowledge 
of  ''Whom  to  know  aright  is  life  eternal,"  must  be 
prosperous  and  happy  in  this  world,  and  happy  in 
the  assurance  that  it  will  be  infinitely  better  in  the 
beyond  where  we  shall  see  Him  as  He  is,  and  be 
like  Him. 

Their  language  was  reduced  to  writing,  books 
furnished,  many  hopeful  converts  baptized,  among 
whom  was  Paiting,  son  of  the  mountain  chief,  a 
most  devout  and  pious  young  man,  whose  constant 
prayer  was,  "O  Lord,  send  a  teacher  from  America 
for  the  Kemmees. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

A   VISIT    HOME. 

"  For  not  he  that  commendeth  himself  is  approved, 
but  whom  the  Lord  commendeth  "— ^  Cor.  ^,  i8. 

Let  the  "  Hero  "  return  to  his  home  once  more 
And  arouse  the  people  from  shore  to  shore 

To  double  their  diligence  and  on  to  the  fight, 
To  crush  out  the  wrong  and  build  up  the  light. 

Brother,  thrice  welcome  to  thine  own  native  soil, 
And  respite  from  labor  or  change  in  thy  toil. 

Be  quickened  our  zeal  by  the  news  thou  shalt  biing, 
Of  conquest  for  Jesus,  Redeemer  and  King. 

The  courage  that  urged  through  jungle  and  glen 
As  fleeing  from  bandits,  or  seeking  lost  men, 

Make  bolder  our  hearts  to  strengthen  such  hands, 
Till  Jesus  shall  reign  King  over  all  lands. 

For  more  than  twelve  years  Dr.  Kincaid  had 
been  ever  busy  on  the  foreign  field,  except  as  hin- 
dered by  robbers  and  war.  The  health  of  his 
wife  demanded  a  change  of  climate  and  in  1843  ^^ 
returned  to  his  native  land  accompanied   by  his 

wife. 

He  met  with  such  a  reception  as  proved  that  he 
was  held  in  high  esteem  in  the  churches  and 
homes  of  America. 


A  VISIT  HOME.  .  167 

But  he  found  a  sad  lack  of  missionary  zeal, 
in  many  of  the  churches  both  north  and  south. 
And  that  same  love  for  the  lost  that  led  him  over 
mountain  and  plain,  through  jungle  and  glade, 
to  carry  the  gospel  to  the  millions  then  wrapped  in 
the  curtains  of  night,  led  him  to  travel  through 
almost  every  state  in  the  Union  making  such 
thrilling  appeals  fot  the  heathen  as  to  awaken 
everywhere  a  new  and  marvelous  interest  in 
behalf  of  foreign  missions.  To  narrate  the  strik- 
ing incidents  connected  with  the  visit  and  his 
untiring  efforts  to  produce  a  missionary  conviction 
everywhere,  furnish  thought  for  a  thrilling  chapter. 
But  as  this  is  all  fresh  in  the  memory  of  many  liv- 
ing witnesses,  we  only  notice  a  few  points  of 
special  interest  to  profit  the  generations  that  were 
not  stirred  by  his  thrilling  appeals.  A  very  imper- 
fect idea  of  their  effect  as  they  fell  from  his  own 
lips  can  be  portrayed  through  the  pen.  To  appre- 
ciate these  appeals,  place  before  you  a  form  well 
developed,  in  full  prime,  all  aglow  with  the  sub- 
ject under  consideration,  every  fibre  of  his  frame 
wrought  to  a  high  tension  with  deepest  emotional 
feelings,  pouring  forth  in  every  strain,  his  whole 
being  stirred  to  that  intensity  under  which  it 
is  impossible  to  remain  unmoved. 


1 68  KINCAID,  THE  HERO  MISSIONARY. 

Never,  while  memory  lasts,  could  a  hearer  f(5rget 
the  impression  made  as  he  recounted  the  parting 
scene  of  the  lamented  Comstocks  with  their  child- 
ren, and  the  last  words  that  Mr.  Comstock  uttered 
to  Dr.  Kincaid. 

"Owing  to  the  difficulty  of  educating  them  in  a 
heathen  land,  the  children  were  entrusted  to  the 
care  of  Dr.  Kincaid  to  bring  to  America." 

While  together  at  the  Comstock' s  one  day  word 
came  that  the  ship  was  ready  to  sail,  and  that  they 
must  prepare  at  once  to  embark. 

On  the  arrival  of  this  expected  messenger,  Mrs. 
Comstock  arose,  took  a  child  in  each  hand,  and 
walked  with  them  toward  a  grove  of  tamarind 
trees  near  the  house.  After  walking  a  little  dis- 
tance, she  paused  a  moment,  looked  at  each  of 
her  children  with  all  a  mother's  love,  and  imprint- 
ed an  affectionate  kiss  on  the  brow  of  each.  She 
then  raised  her  eyes  to  heaven,  silently  invoked  a 
blessing  on  their  heads,  returned  to  the  house,  and 
delivering  her  children  into  his  hands,  and  said: 
"Brother  Kincaid,  this  I  do  for  my  Savior.^'' 

Brother  Comstock  then  took  his  two  children 
by  the  hand  and  led  them  from  the  house  toward 
the  ship,    while  that  tender  mother  gazed   upon 


A  VISIT  HOME.  169 

them,  as  they  walked  away,  for  the  last  time.     She 
saw  them  no  more  on  earth. 

Reaching  the  ship,  about  two  miles  off  in  the 
bay,  "we  descended  to  the  cabin.  When  Brother 
Comstock  entered  one  of  the  staterooms  with  his 
children;  there  he  knelt  with  them  in  prayer,  laid 
his  hands  on  their  heads  and  bestowed  a  father's 
blessing  on  them,  tears  all  the  while  streaming 
down  his  cheeks.  This  affecting  duty  over,  he 
resumed  at  once  his  usual  calmness."  He  took 
leave  of  Dr.  Kincaid  with  a  gentle  pressure  of  the 
hand,  and,  with  upturned  face  still  bedewed  with 
tears,  exclaimed  as  the  boat  moved  away,  ^^ Re- 
member^ Brother  Kincaid^  sixmenforArracanf^ 

This  proved  to  be  their  last  meeting  and  parting 
on  earth.  The  very  day  their  children  were  safe 
at  Sandy  Hook,  April  28th,  1843,  ^^^  mother's 
spirit,  released  from  earth,  returned  to  God  who 
gave  it;  and  three  days  less  than  a  year  later. 
Brother  Comstock  followed  her  to  rest.  And 
while  peacefully  they  sleep  side  by  side  in  the 
graveyard  at  Ramree,  under  the  tamarind  trees, 
may  their  devotion  be  emulated  by  many  who 
shall  read,-  "  This  I  do  for  my  Savior.'''' 

As  he  stood   before  a  large  assembly   with   his 


ryo  KINCAID,   THE  HERO  MISSIONARY. 

soul  on  fire,  encouraged  by  the  conquest  manifest 
in  tears  and  half-smothered  sobs,  hear  him  once 
more  call  upon  his  audience  to  remember  the  part- 
ing words  of  the  beloved  Comstock,  as  he  asked, 
* 'Shall  I  return  to  that  heathen  land  without  'Six 
men  for  Arracan  ?' ' ' 

It  was  this  illustration  of  Christian  heroism,  so 
touchingly  related,  that  called  from  the  pen  of 
Charles  Thurber  the  following  beautiful  lines: 

"Six  Men  for  Arracan. 

"  The  mother  stamped  a  burning  kiss 

Upon  each  little  brow  ; 
So  dear  a  sacrifice  as  this 

She  never  made  till  now. 
Go,  go,  my  babes,  the  Sabbath  bell 

Will  greet  you  o'er  the  sea; 
I'll  bid  my  idol  ones  farewell, 

For  thee,  my  God,  lor  thee. 
But  off  they'd  gone,  those  little  ones, 

I  saw  them  gaily  trip, 
And  chatter  on  in  merry  tones, 

To  see  the  gallant  ship. 
The  stricken  sire,  he'd  often  drank 

Sad  draughts  at  duty's  beck, 
He  leads  them  calmly  o'er  the  plank 

And  stands  upon  the  deck; 
As  pale  as  polished  Parian  stones, 

As  white  as  Arctic  snows. 
Beside  those  young  and  cherished  ones. 

The  stricken  father  bows. 
He  breathes  one  prayer,  he  prints  one  kiss 


A  VISIT  HOME. 

And  turns  him  toward  the  shore. 
He  felt,  till  now,  the  babes  were  his, 

But  they  were  his  no  more ; 
The  silken  tie  more  strong  than  death, 

That  bound  their  hearts  was  riven, 
And  floating  on  an  angel's  breath. 

Rose  up  and  clung  to  heaven. 

Why  lingers  he  upon  the  shore  ? 

Why  turns  he  to  the  deck  ? 
Perhaps  to  say  farewell,  once  more. 

Perhaps  one  look  to  take. 
O  no,  but  calm  as  angels  now. 

That  kneel  before  the  throne. 
When  twice  ten  thousand  thousand  bow. 

And  say,  "Thy  will  be  done," 
He  said,  "  My  brother,  when  you  stand 

Beyond  the  raging  deep. 
In  tlat  delightful,  happy  land. 
Where  all  our  fathers  sleep, 
When  you  shall  hear  their  Sabbath  bell 

Call  out  their  happy  throng. 
And  hear  the  organ's  solemn  swell, 

And  Zion's  sacred  songs. 
Tell  them  a  herald,  faraway, 

Where  midnight  broods  o'er  man. 
Bade  ye  the  solemn  message  say, 
"  Six  men  for  Arracan.  " 

While  in  that  happy  land  of  theirs. 

They  feast  on  blessings  given. 
And  genial  suns  on  healthful  airs. 

Come  speeding  fresh  from  heaven  ; 
Tell  them,  that,  near  yon  idol  dome 

There  dwells  a  lonely  man. 
Who  bade  ye  take  this  message  home, 

"  Six  men  for  Arracan.'''' 

Sweet  home,  ah,  yes,  I  know  how  sweet, 


171 


172  KINCAID,  THE  HERO    MISSIONARY. 

Within  my  country,  thou, 
I've  known  what  heartfelt  pleasures  meet, 

I've  felt,  and  feel  them  now. 
Well,  in  those  lively  scenes  of  bliss. 

Where  childhood's  joys  began, 
I'd  have  ye,  brother,  tell  them  this, 

'  Six  men  for  Arracan." 

O  when  the  saint  lies  down  to  die. 

And  friendship  'round  him  stands. 
And  faith  directs  his  tearless  eyes 

To  fairer,  happier  lands; 
How  calm  he  bids  poor  earth  adieu, 

With  all  most  dear  below. 
The  spirit  sees  sweet  home  in  view. 

And  plumes  her  wings  to  go; 
Stop,  dying  saint,  O  hnger  yet. 

And  cast  one  thought  on  man- 
Be  this  the  last  that  thou  forget 

"vSVjc-  men  for  Arracan  !  ^ 

At  a  gathering  held  in  the  large  round  house  of 
the  Sansom  street  church,  when  Dr.  Williams  had 
read  a  report  on  the  duty  of  churches  in  reference 
to  the  cause  of  missions,  Dr.  Kincaid  rose  to  move 
its  adoption,  and  said:  "There  are  a  great  many 
intelligent  people  who  question  whether,  in  this 
day,  we  are  to  expect  the  same  success  as  marked 
the  history  of  the  primitive  Christians  in  their 
efforts  to  furnish  the  heathen  with  the  gospel." 

But  if  it   be  preached  "in   all  its   length   and 


A  VISIT  HOME.  173 

breadth  and  richness,  with  like  spirit,  there  will  be 
like  success." 

He  was  fully  convinced  that  if  the  gospel  were 
preached  in  all  its  simplicity,  stripped  of  all  its 
human  adornments,  it  must  ever  prove  to  be  the 
power  of  God  to  believing  men  in  every  land  in 
every  age. 

There  were  but  three  missionaries  in  Burma  in 
1830,  two  of  whom  were  qualified  to  preach.  These 
were  reinforced  so  that  in  1843  seven  or  eight  were 
preaching  and  doing  much  other  work  to  spread 
the  gospel  among  the  perishing. 

The  translation  of  the  scripture  into  different 
tongues  was  going  on.  Tracts  were  published  and 
freely  distributed,  and  while  the  government  was 
unfriendly  and  even  threatening,  such  an  amount 
of  the  leaven  of  God's  grace  had  found  its  way 
into  the  hearts  of  the  people  as  to  lift  all  Burma  on 
the  wings  of  prayer  towards  the  mercy  seat,  where 
the  windows  of  heaven  were  confidently  expected 
to  open,  and  showers  of  blessing  flow  to  every 
thirsty  soul. 

True,  the  missionaries  complained  of  a  lack  of 
faith  and  that  fullness  of  the  divine  presence  that 
always  gives  zest  and  power  to  the  gospel.     Their 


174  KINCAID,  THE  HERO  MISSIONARY. 

realization  of  this  lack  put  the  apostolic  prayer  in 
their  mouths,  "Lord,  increase  our  faith,"  and  the 
power  was  given  in  due  time,  and  he  who  was  in 
perils  among  robbers  and  wild  beasts  lived  to  see 
the  time  when  he  could  travel  from  end  to  end  and 
side  to  side  of  the  Burman  empire,  and  every  day 
save  one  dine  in  a  Christian  home,  and  every  night 
but  one  lodge  with  a  Christian  family. 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

BARRIERS  BREAKING  AWAY. 

"Whom  he  would  he  set  up,   and  whom  he  would  he 
put  down.'' — Dan   v.  ig. 

The  chief  cause  of  Dr.  Kincaid's  prolonged 
visit  in  this  country  was  the  distracted  state  of 
the  Burman  Empire.  After  the  accession  of  Thur- 
ra-wa-di  to  the  the  throne,  whose  arbitrary  policy 
was  the  immediate  cause  of  Dr.  Kincaid's  leaving 
Ava,  the  condition  of  the  country  for  a  long  time 
was  such  as  to  render  it  impossible  to  occupy  it  as 
a  field  of  labor  with  any  hope  of  extended  useful- 
ness. 

But,  beside  the  contracted  views  of  the  govern- 
ment, so  unsettled  was  the  whole  state  of  their 
political  affairs  that  it  was  impossible  to  calculate 
what  would  be  developed  in  the  future.  The 
missionaries  could,  therefore,  but  await  the  un- 
foldings  of  providence. 

Soon  events  transpired  which  awakened  confi- 
dent hopes  that  the  day  was  near  when  that  dark 


176  KING  AID,  THE  HERO  MISSIONARY. 

land  would  again  be  thrown  open   to  missionary 
labors. 

Dr.  Kincaid  wrote,  "The  king  of  Burma  is 
dethroned,  and  an  entire  revolution  has  taken 
place  in  the  government.  Prince  Mekara  is  made 
regent,  and  the  Woon-gee  who  signed  the  Yan- 
dabo  treaty  is  associated  with  him  in  the  new 
administration.  This  change  of  government  will 
be  hailed  with  rapture  through  all  the  provinces 
in  the  empire,  No  two  men  could  be  more  unlike 
than  the  Mekara  prince  and  the  deposed  monarch. 
The  one  by  nature  a  tyrant,  and  the  other  amiable 
and  unambitious.  I  became  acquainted  with  both 
these  princes  in  1833,  and  from  both  received 
great  kindness.  Thur-ra-wa-di  manifested  no  in- 
terest in  any  conversation  but  such  as  related  to 
the  power,  wealth  and  political  influence  of  nations. 
He  pretended  to  admire  France,  Persia  and  China, 
and  never  concealed  his  dislike  of  the  English. 

No  one  could  be  with  him  long  without  perceiving 
that  his  hatred  for  the  English  arose  from  his  dread 
of  their  power.  He  took  a  daily  paper  from  Cal- 
cutta, had  it  translated,  and  when  he  could  fix  on 
any  reverse  or  disaster,  it  seemed  to  afford  him  the 
highest  gratification. 


BARRIERS  BREAKING  AWAY.  177 

He  was  five  feet  four  inches  high  and  well  formed. 
His  forehead  was  remarkably  high  and  retreating, 
and  his  eyes  brilliant  and  piercing. 

When  pleased,  his*eyes  were  peculiarly  fascinat- 
ing ;  but  when  angry,  they  were  lighted  up  with 
dreadful  vengeance. 

The  Mekara  prince  was  somewhat  taller,  but  less 
muscular,  and  had  a  high,  full  forehead,  with  large, 
intelligent,  smiling  eyes.  When  thoughtful  and 
studious,  there  was  a  slight  tinge  of  melancholy  in 
his  countenance,  but 'in  conversation  there  was  a 
glow  of  kindliness  spread  over  his  whole  face.  His 
inquiries  always  turned  upon  religion,  science  and 
literature. 

The  philosophy  of  religion,  or  the  great  prin- 
ciples brought  out  and  inculcated  by  different 
systems  of  religion,  interested  him  deeply.  Next, 
mathematics,  astronomy  and  languages  interested 
him.  He  was  the  most  learned  Burman  in  the 
world.  To  gratify -his  thirst  for  learning,  he  pro- 
cured Rees'  Cyclopedia  and  other  works,  a  pair  of 
large  English  globes,  and  a  telescope,  in  which  he 
could  see  the  rings  of  Saturn  and  the  satellites  of 
Jupiter. 

''I  gave  him  a  copy  of  the   Bible,  and  a  copy 


178  KINCAID,  THE  HERO  MISSIONARY. 

of  Galladet  on  the  Soul,  in  the  Burman  language. 
Paul's  Epistles  to  the  Romans  interested  him  more 
than  any  other  book.  He  often  spoke  of  its  pro- 
found reasoning,  and  of  the  great  principles  there 
brought  out.  Dr.  Price  had  taught  him  to  read 
English,  but  he  was  not  able  to  speak  it. 

At  his  request,  Dr.  Price  commenced  an  English 
and  Burman  dictionary,  and  after  his  death  it  was 
taken  up  and  completed  by  Mr.  Eane,  an  English 
merchant,  and  printed  at  the  expense  of  the  East 
India  Company. 

The  amiable  and  humane  character  of  the  Me- 
kara  prince  was  proverbial  in  Burma. 

Ko-gway,  a  venerable  old  man,  who  became  a 
Christian,  and  afterwards  deacon  of  the  church  in 
Ava,  told  me  he  was  an  eye-witness  of  a  successful 
act  of  the  Mekara  prince  in  behalf  of  two  state 
criminals. 

The  men  were  leaders  in  a  rebellion  in  one  of  the 
frontier  provinces.  They  were  brought  to  Ava 
and  sentenced  to  be  crucified.  This  sentence  was 
carried  into  execution  without  the  walls  of  Ava,  a 
little  after  sundown.  The  next  morning,  very 
early,  the  prince,  then  about  twelve  years  old,  went 


BARRIERS  BREAKING  AWAY.  1 79 

out  with  his  attendants,  and  passed  near  where 
these  two  men  were  crucified. 

Hearing  their  agonizing  cries,  he  inquired  what 
it  meant,  and  being  informed,  he  directed  his 
attendants  to  hasten  with  him  to  the  palace.  He 
threw  himself  at  his  father's  feet,  and  with  bitter 
tears,  implored  him  to  have  mercy  on  the  men.  The 
king  gave  orders  instantly  to  have  the  men  taken 
down.  It  was  a  little  after  sunrise  when  they 
reached  the  place,  and  their  groans  had  become 
feeble,  as  life  was  fast  ebbing  away.  The  wood 
was  sawed  off  each  side  of  the  feet  and  hands  and 
split,  in  order  to  draw  out  the  great  iron  spikes, 
the  young  prince  all  the  time  standing  by,  weeping 
and  hurrying  the  men.  The  older  of  the  prisoners 
was  too  far  gone  to  be  restored,  and  soon  expired. 
The  younger,  being  about  thirty  years  of  age,  re- 
vived, and  in  a  few  weeks  was  fully  recovered. 
This  act  of  humanity  procured  for  him  the  respect 
and  veneration  of  the  whole  empire. 

Thur-ra-wa-di  was  proud,  haughty,  ambitious 
and  cruel.  It  was  well  known  in  Ava  that  persons 
whom  he  disliked  had  been  betrayed  into  the  com- 
pound and  murdered  by  his  orders.  Some  of  the 
most  noted  robber  chieftains  in  the  empire  were 


l8o  KING  AID,  THE  HERO  MISSIONARY. 

known  to  be  in  constant  communication  with  him, 
and  had  his  protection;  but  the  fact  that  he  was  the 
king's  own  brother,  and  shared  largely  in  the  king's 
confidence,  was  a  sufficient  reason  why  no  officer 
of  government  should  venture  to  impeach  him. 
It  was  true  this  prince  had  some  interesting  traits 
of  character,  which,  among  a  people  like  the  Bur- 
mans,  atoned  for  his  faults.  He  was  enterprising, 
enthusiastic  and  generous  in  his  temperament. 
Those  whom  he  esteemed  he  loaded  with  favors, 
and  met  them  with  fascinating  smiles. 

In  February,  1837,  a  notorious  robber  chief,  who 
had  received  for  himself  the  title  Kea-gee  (the 
great  tiger),  was  pursued  by  the  government,  and 
it  was  currently  reported  and  believed  that  he  had 
taken  shelter  with  Prince  Thur-ra-wa-di.  A  mes- 
senger was  sent  from  the  Lhoot  dau  (the  king's 
high  court),  to  the  palace  of  Thur-ra-wa-di,  to 
inquire  if  Kea-gee  was  there.  This  was  an  insult 
which  the  prince  could  not  brook.  He  took  fire 
instantly,  and  used  insulting  language  to  the  court, 
at  the  head  of  which  was  the  queen's  brother, 
whom  he  hated  as  he  did  the  queen,  with  a  deadly 
hate. 

The  messenger  fled  back  to  the  Lhoot  dau,  and 


BARRIERS  BREAKING  AWAY.  l8l 

without  loss  of  time  an  officer,  with  some  eighty 
or  a  hundred  men,  was  sent  to  search  for  the  rob- 
ber chieftain.  The  prince,  aware  of  what  was 
going  on,  armed  between  one  and  two  hundred  of 
his  men,  and  when  the  police  arrived  at  his  gate 
and  demanded  admission,  the  prince  ordered  his 
men  to  fire.  Two  or  three  were  killed,  several 
wounded,  and  the  rest  fled  precipitately  to  the 
Lhoot  dau.  This  was  open  rebellion.  The  whole 
city  was  in  an  uproar.  Thur-ra-wa-di,  taking  his 
family  and  about  three  hundred  men,  forced  one 
of  the  gates  of  the  city,  and  seizing  whatever 
boats  they  came  to,  crossed  the  river  to  Sagaing. 
Taking  the  governor  of  that  city  and  a  few  hun- 
dred men  the  prince  went,  by  forced  marches,  to 
Moke-so-bo,  a  strongly  fortified  city  about  fifty 
miles  west  of  Ava. 

The  reader  will  bear  in  mind  that  this  is  the 
revolution  inaugurated  while  Dr.  Kincaid  was  in 
the  hands  of  the  robbers  in  northern  Burma. 

From  his  new  stronghold,  Thur-ra-wa-di  quickly 
dispatched  messengers  through  all  the  provinces 
reporting  that  the  queen's  brother  had  usurped 
the  throne,  imprisoned  the  king,  murdered  the 
heir  apparent,  and  was  seeking  to  take  his  life;  and 


1 82  KINCAID,  THE  HERO  MISSIONARY. 

he  called  upon  all  to  rally  around  his  standard, 
and  assist  in  putting  down  the  queen's  brother. 
The  robber  chieftains  were  dispatched  to  collect 
their  hordes  of  outlaws  together.  In  a  few  days 
he  had  about  ten  thousand  armed  men,  and  these 
were  so  placed  as  to  cut  off  all  communication 
between  Ava  and  the  provinces. 

He  had  his  spies  constantly  circulating  reports 
in  Ava,  magnifying  the  number  of  his  forces,  and 
repeating  his  solemn  oaths  before  pagodas  that  his 
only  design  was  to  put  down  the  queen's  brother 
and  restore  the  king  to  his  rightful  power. 

As  the  queen's  brother  was  odious  to  the  people 
generally,  they  were  ready  to  believe  any  such 
reports. 

This  paralyzed  the  government;  for  though  the 
king  soon  had  some  thirty  thousand  troops,  and 
the  walls  of  Ava  bristling  with  cannon,  it  availed 
nothing.  The  people  thought  that  in  fighting 
Thur-ra-wa-di  they  were  really  fighting  the  king. 
So  there  was  constant  defection  in  the  king's 
army.  Early  in  May  Ava  was  beleaguered.  On 
every  side  was  a  large  army,  intent  on  plundering 
the  capital.  The  Mekara  prince  was  sent  to  inter- 
cede for  the  city.      Thur-ra-wa-di  insisted  on  giving 


BARRIERS  BREAKING  AWAY.  1 83 

it  over  to  be  sacked  by  his  armies.  Col.  Buriiey, 
the  English  resident,  was  requested  by  the  king  to 
use  his  influence  to  save  the  city  from  the  awful 
calamity  threatened.  Nothing  could  exceed  the 
anxiety  and  gloom  that  reigned  through  the  city. 
All  business  ceased.  Old  men  sat  in  groups,  con- 
versing mournfully. 

Mothers  sat  in  their  doors  with  tiieir  children 
nestled  around  them,  listening  to  the  thousand 
tales  of  outrage  and  cruelty  committed  without 
the  walls  the  night  before.  The  gaiety  of  the 
imperial  city  was  gone.  The  walls  were  covered 
with  troops,  but  no  confidence  was  placed  in  them. 
All  dreaded  the  approach  of  night,  fearing  an 
attack  before  morning. 

Think  of  the  lonely  missionary's  wife  in  these 
surroundings,  without  knowledge  of  the  where- 
abouts or  condition  of  the  companion  she  was  so 
wont  to  lean  upon  in  hours  of  trial. 

The  king  urged  Colonel  Burney,  the  English 
resident,  to  interpose  his  kind  offices.  Through 
his  entreaties  Thur-ra-wa-di  spared  the  city.  The 
keys  of  Ava  were  delivered  to  him,  the  king's 
troops  were  disbanded,  and  the  whole  empire  was 
prostrated  at  his  feet. 


184  KINCAID,   THE  HERO  MISSIONARY. 

Soon  the  prisons  of  Ava  were  crowded  with 
noblemen  and  officers  who  had  been  attached  to 
the  old  government.  In  violation  of  oaths  and 
promises  the  king  was  placed  in  confinement;  the 
queen  and  her  only  daughter,  about  fourteen  years 
of  age,  were  trampled  to  death  by  elephants;  the 
queen's  brother,  after  suffering  the  most  horrible 
tortures,  was  put  to  death.  Public  executions  took 
place- almost  every  day.  Hordes  of  robbers  over- 
run the  land. 

Thur-ra-wa-di  tore  in  pieces  the  Yan-da-bo 
treaty,  and  told  Colonel  Burney  that  though  he 
respected  him  as  a  man,  as  a  British  officer,  yet  as 
a  resident  at  the  court  of  Ava  he  did  not  know  him. 

About  the  same  time  he  sent  a  special  messenger 
to  Dr.  Kincaid  to  inform  him  that  he  must  neither 
preach  nor  give  sacred  books  to  the  people.  "The 
next  day,"  says  Dr.  Kincaid,  "I  waited  on  the 
new  king  to  learn  from  his  own  lips  his  intentions 
on  a  subject  so  momentous  as  the  closing  of  the 
empire  against  the  diffusion  of  Christian  knowl- 
edge. I  was  received  as  formerly,  in  the  kindest 
manner,  and  he  introduced  the  subject  himself,  in 
the  presence  of  his  whole  court,  by  saying:  'The 
fates   have    made  me   king,  and,  therefore,   I  am 


BARRIERS  BREAKING  AWAY.  185 

Tha-tha-iia-da-ya-ka  (defender  of   the  faith),  and 
must  sustain  the  religion  of  the  empire.'  " 

Much  more  was  said  in  justification  of  the  pol- 
icy he  purposed  to  pursue,  not  of  sufficient 
importance  to  entitle  it  to  space  here. 

The  next  day  Dr.  Kincaid  called,  taking  with 
him  a  Burman  Bible  in  four  volumes.  The  king 
inquired  very  pleasantly,  "What  have  you  there?" 

"The  only  book  which  the  Eternal  God  has 
given  to  mankind,"  he  replied. 

The  king  directed  an  officer  to  take  the  book  to 
his  private  apartments.  He  expressed  a  desire  that 
Dr.  Kincaid  should  remain  in  the  capital,  teach 
science,  and  translate  for  him  the  history  of 
England.  "I  replied,"  says  Dr.  Kincaid,  "that 
it  was  impossible  for  me  to  lay  aside  the  office  and 
work  of  a  religious  teacher. ' ' 

The  king's  mind  seemed  made  up  that  the  Chris- 
tian religion  should  not  be  taught,  and  his  mind 
was  as  fully  made  up  not  to  stay  in  Ava  for  any 
other  purpose  than  teaching  and  preaching  Christ. 

^  'To  act  covertly,'  and  try  to  accomplish  something 
secretly,  was  foreign  to  my  feelings,  and  in  oppo- 
sition to  all  my  views  of  the  spirit  and  genius  of 
Christianity.     We  left  Ava  in  sadness.     We  had 


1 86  KINCAID,  THE  HERO  MISSIONARY. 

seen  a  little  church  grow  up  within  the  walls  of 
that  ancient  and  proud  city,  large  numbers  had 
become  partially  enlightened,  and  their  minds 
favorably  impressed  with  the  principles  of  Chris- 
tianity. ' ' 

Mrs.  Kincaid  was  almost  daily  surrounded  with 
females,  who  called  to  converse  with  her,  and  listen 
to  her  instruction,  and  multitudes  of  old  friends 
gathered  with  the  church  and  thronged  the  shore 
the  morning  they  left.  The  tears  of  sorrow  told  their 
own  sad  story,  while  the  tide  bore  them  away  from 
the  proud  city.  ' '  The  thoughts  and  feelings  of  that 
hour,"  says  Dr.  Kincaid,  "must  remain  unre- 
corded. ' ' 

Ko-gway  and  his  wife,  two  aged  disciples,  who 
had  endeared  themselves  to  the  missionaries  by 
their  amiable  manners  and  tender  solicitude  for  their 
happiness,  spent  a  large  part  of  the  preceding  day 
at  Dr.  Kincaid' s,  rendering  whatever  assistance 
they  could.  Several  times  they  said,  'Teacher,  we 
shall  pray  that  God  will  change  the  mind  of  the 
king,  or  else  take  him  away.' 

Such  were  the  feelings  and  prayers  of  many. 
Thur-ra-wa-di  had  put  to  death  the  heir-apparent, 
the  queen,  her  brother,  and  a  large  number  of  the 


BARRIERS  BREAKING  AWAY.  1 87 

nobility  and  officers,  all  on  whom  there  was  the 
slightest  taint  of  suspicion  that  they  were  favorable 
to  the  'old  government.  He  was  not  satisfied  with 
removing  the  governors  of  provinces  and  cities;  the 
greater  number  of  them  were  brought  to  Ava  in 
irons  and  then  beheaded.  One  with  whom  Dr. 
Kincaid  had  been  a  guest,  the  governor  of  Mo- 
Nheen,  a  province  near  the  borders  of  China,  was 
brought  to  Ava  in  chains,  and  then  fastened  up  to 
posts,  and  emboweled,  near  a  great  thoroughfare, 
just  without  the  wall  of  the  city,  and  when  the 
missionaries  left  Ava,  June  17th,  the  bones  were 
still  hanging  there,  rattling  in  the  wind.  He  was 
a  highly  intelligent  and  venerable  old  man.  The 
kindliness  with  which  he  had  entertained  Dr.  Kin- 
caid for  a  day  and  a  night  the  preceding  February, 
would  do  honor  to  a  man  of  any  nation. 

His  only  crime  was  attachment  to  the  old  king. 
Neither  faithfulness  nor  fitness  for  office  was  re- 
garded —  nearly  all  were  swept  away.  Everything 
indicated  that  Thur-ra-wa-di  would  secure  to  his 
family  an  undisputed  throne. 

The  Governor  General  of  India  took  no  notice 
of  his  spurning  the  English  resident  from  his  court, 
and  his  trampling  under  foot  the  treaty  of  Yandabo; 


but,  after  some  months,  sent  up  another  officer  of 
high  distinction,  Colonel  Benton,  with  a  large 
amount  in  presents.  The  forbearance  of  the 
Governor  General  only  increased  his  insolence. 
Colonel  Benton  could  not  obtain  an  audience,  and 
the  bazaar  people  were  punished  for  selling  pro- 
visions to  Colonel  Benton's  servants,  so  that  they 
were  m  danger  of  being  starved.  Colonel  Benton, 
with  his  suite,  was  obliged  to  leave.  After  this, 
Thur-ra-wa-di  proceeded  to  raise  an  army  of  100,000 
men,  and  all  well  armed,  and  proceeded  to  Rangoon, 
500  miles  from  the  capital. 

With  such  a  vast  army  hovering  near  the  provinces 
ceded  to  the  English,  and  led  on  by  the  king  him- 
self, no  small  anxiety  was  felt.  To  watch  the 
movements  of  his  army,  cost  the  Indian  govern- 
ment about  half  a  million.  After  a  few  months' 
stay  in  Rangoon,  the  king,  with  his  army,  returned 
to  Ava. 

Passing  by  the  Prince  of  Prome,  a  young  man 
of  fitness  and  successor  to  the  throne,  the  king 
selected,  and  installed  as  his  heir,  a  son  of  feeble 
intellect.  The  Prince  of  Prome  was  offended,  and 
the  Prime  Minister,  Moung-dau-gyee,  manifested 
too  openly  his  partiality  for  the  prince,  and  was 


BARRIERS  BREAKING  AWAY.  189 

called  to  the  palace.  The  king  inquired  if  he 
was  aware  of  the  dissatisfaction  of  the  Prince  of 
Prome.  The  venerable  old  minister  replied  that 
he  was.  Instantly  the  king  arose  and  stabbed  his 
minister  to  the  heart.  loosing  all  self-control,  and 
apparently  becoming  insane,  he  killed  a  large  num- 
ber of  his  principal  officers.  The  Prince  of  Prome 
fled  to  the  Shan  provinces,  east  of  Ava,  but  soon 
returned  and  was  executed. 

Among  the  ministers  murdered  was  Mflung 
Gulla,  a  young  man  of  rare  talents,  and  the  most 
distinguished  military  man  in  Burma.  The  re- 
maining ministers  and  officers,  fearing  for  their 
own  safety,  and  regarding  the  king  as  insane, 
seized  and  confined  him,  and  appointed  a  regency 
in  which  the  Mekara  prince  had  a  conspicuous 
place,  as  also  the  old  nobleman  who  had  signed  the 
Yandabo  treaty. 

Thus  fell  one  of  the  proudest  monarchs  and  one 
of  the  greatest  tyrants  that  ever  sat  on  the  throne 
of  Ava. 

In  eight  short  years  he,  with  his  family,  passed 
from  the  summit  of  human  ambitions,  to  a  felon's 
home. 

The  pacific  and  enlightened  principles  of  gov- 


190  KINCAID,  THE  HERO  MISSIONARY. 

ernment  pursued  before  the  revolution  of  1837 
were  restored,  and  friendly  relations  again  opened 
between  Burma  and  India;  the  odious  and  crushing 
monopolies  were  removed,  and  commerce  again 
flourished. 

The  Mekara  prince  was  not  a  statesman,  but 
was  highly  intelligent  and  enlighted,  and  humane 
and  generous.  He  had  more  knowledge  of  Chris- 
tianity than  any  other  prince  in  the  empire,  and 
was  ft  madness  to  believe  that,  in  mercy  to  the  mil- 
lions of  Burma,  God  raised  him  to  power  ?  To  the 
missionaries  it  seemed  a  most  merciful  interposition 
of  divine  providence,  and  opening  up  of  the  way 
to  publish  in  the  great  and  beautiful  valley  of  the 
Irrawaddy  the  tidings  of  peace  and  salvation. 

Then  over  all  the  mountain  districts  of  Burma 
were  thickly  scattered  the  Karen  villages,  a  people 
prepared  in  a  remarkable  degree  for  the  reception 
of  the  gospel.  Would  the  church  awake  to  more 
earnest  prayer  and  vigorous  efforts?  Would  her- 
alds of  salvation  respond  to  these  providential  calls 
and  say  ^''send  me?^^ 

Dr.  Kincaid  was  anxious  to  be  off  for  his  chosen 
field  again  as  soon  as  he  heard  Mekara  prince 
reigned  instead  of  Thur-ra-wa-di.  Our  next  chap- 
ter will  find  him  preaching  the  everlasting  gospel 
to  that  people  he  longed  to  see  saved. 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

ENROUTE  AGAIN  FOR  BURMA. 

"He  is  a  chosen  vessel  unto  me  to  bear  my  name 
before  the  Gentiles  and  Kings." — Acts  ix,  ij. 

For  several  years  it  had  been  confidently 
asserted  and  published  that  Burma  was  forbidden 
the  missionaries  and  further  efforts  to  establish  the 
new  religion  would  not  be  tolerated. 

But  Dr.  Kincaid  so  fully  believed  the  time  at 
hand  to  re-enter  the  field,  that  in  1849  he  was  led 
to  ask  from  the  Executive  Committee  an  appoint- 
ment as  a  missionary  to  Ava. 

The  Committee  having  complied  with  his 
request,  he  asked  that  a  missionary  physician 
might  be  sent  to  the  same  field  at  the  same  time. 

Dr.  Dawson,  who  applied  for  the  apppointment, 
was  peculiarly  well  fitted  for  the  position,  as 
he  possessed  an  intimate  acquaintance  with  the 
Burman  people  and  understood  their  language. 
It  was  believed  that  his  appointment  would  prove 
a  protection  to  mission  effort  in  Ava. 


192  KING  AID,   THE  HERO  MISSIONARY. 

Notwithstanding  these  encouraging  features  and 
the  fact  that  almost  every  pastor  and  many  influen- 
tial laymen  of  Philadelphia  urged  the  appoint- 
ment, the  Committee  did  not  feel  justified  to  take 
a  step  incurring  such  expense  without  author- 
ity from  the  Board.  So  at  the  annual  meeting  of 
the  Missionary  Union  at  Buffalo  in  1850  the  whole 
matter  was  laid  before  them  and  by  them  referred 
to  a  special  committee,  who  through  the  Rev.  Dr. 
Williams,  made  the  following  report. 

"The  subject,"  said  they,  "is  one  of  grave 
import,  and  is  not  without  its  peculiar  difficulties. 
The  removal  of  aggressive  operations  on  the  part 
of  our  missions  against  the  heathenism  of  Burma 
proper,  has  been  for  vSome  years  the  theme  of  solic- 
itude, discussion  and  prayer.  It  seemed  a  reproach 
to  A«ierican  Baptists,  that  while  their  labors  had 
been  drawn  off  or  excluded  from  their  territories, 
some  members  of  much  older  Romish  missions 
remained  in  comparative  security;  although  it  was 
understood  they  so  remained  in  virtual  inertness, 
mute  and  bound  as  to  any  efforts  at  proselytism. 
Our  own  labors  among  the  Karens,  a  noble  though 
a  subjugated  race  of  the  population  of  Burma,  had 
been  crowned   with    signal    benediction;    and  the 


KNROUTE  AGAIN  FOR  BURMA.       193 

recent  journals  of  Roman  Catholic  missions  show 
that  to  this  field,  in  which  our  triumphs  have  far 
outstripped  any  Burman  results  of  their  labors,  our 
success  has  provoked  them,  and  in  consequence 
Romish  priests  are  now  going  thither  to  rival,  to 
thwart,  and,  if  it  may  be,  to  supplant  us." 

The  report  here  recognizes  the  work  of  Dr. 
Kincaid  in  the  east,  and  the  years  since  spent  at 
home,  "feeding  and  kindling  missionary  zeal  in 
his  native  country,"  but  now,  finding  himself 
ready  to  attempt  a  resumption  of  "his  eastern 
task,"  his  heart  yearned  to  preach  Christ  at  Ava, 
the  imperial  capital  of  Burma.  He  desired  that 
most  of  his  family  accompany  him,  believing  that 
their  presence  might  prove  to  the  suspicious  Bur- 
mans  the  honesty  and  unworldly  character  of  his 
mission.  They  would  be  exposed,  and  at  Ava  far 
from  medical  relief  if  sent  out  unprovided. 

The  applicant  for  appointment,  Mr.  Dawson,  M. 
D. ,  had  spent  many  years  of  his  early  life  in  Burma, 
and  spoke  "several  of  its  tongues" — was  a  skilled 
physician  of  avowed  piety  and  devotion. 

Brethren  of  Philadelphia,  who  had  known  Dr. 
Dawson  more  intimately  during  the  years  of  his 
residence  there,  urged   even  forcibly  his  appoint- 


194  KINCAID,  THE  HKRO  MISSIONARY. 

merit.  But  the  committee  at  Boston  found  itself 
surrounded  "with  peculiar  embarrassments." 
They  must  look  with  earnest  solicitude  to  the 
results  of  adopting  such  a  measure.  Would  it 
meet  with  the  approval  of  the  churches  supplying 
the  funds  to  carry  forward  the  work  ? 

Already  they  had  spoken  with  some  distinctness 
regarding  the  press,  the  school,  and  the  tract,  being 
used  disproportionately.  They  wanted  the  simple 
preaching  of  the  word,  first  middle  and  last,  as  the 
most  prominent  feature  of  missionary  work. 

Several  of  the  missionaries  in  Burma  dissented 
from  Dr.  Kincaid's  opinion,  that  the  time  had  come 
for  the  reopening  of  Ava  to  missionaries  of  the 
gospel. 

The  executive  committee  was  willing  for  Dr. 
Kincaid  to  go  forward,  and  if,  on  trial,  his  hopes 
were  realized,  he  might  then  send  back  a  statement, 
and  the  missionary  physician  should  follow. 

The  cultivation  of  a  "holy  spirit  of  enterprise 
and  a  generous  trusting  faith  in  God  are  duties  too 
often  neglected  by  our  churches.  Again,  faith 
rises  almost  to  the  point  of  rashness,  dares  the  ac- 
complishment  of    wonders,    but    ever   should    be 


ENROUTE  AGAIN  FOR  BURMA.        195 

submissive  to  the  providences  of  God,  and  always 
active  in  the  day  of  opportunity." 

After  much  deliberating  and  prayer,  at  last  it  was 
''Resolved^  That  the  board  will  sustain  the  ex- 
ecutive committee  in  vigorous  efforts  to  resume 
missionary  operations  in  Burma  proper,  and  will 
justify  the  committee  in  the  appointment  of  a 
medical  helper,  to  accompany  the  Rev.  Dr.  Kincaid 
in  his  attempts  to  re-enter  that  field,  on  such  con- 
ditions as  are  suggested  by  the  report  of  the 
committee  of  five  on  the  part  of  this  board." 

These  instructions  the  executive  committee  com- 
complied  with  at  once,  and  in  July  following  Dr. 
Kincaid  and  family,  accompanied  by  Dr.  Daw- 
son and  family,  embarked  at  Boston  on  the  Wash- 
mgton  Allston,  arrived  at  Maulmain  early  in  the 
year  1851.  From  this  point  he  wrote,  February  21 : 
There  are  difficulties  to  encounter  in  entering  the 
work  in  Burma  proper,  but  as  yet  they  do  not  appear 
to  be  insurmountable.  The  reigning  king  manifest- 
ed but  little  interest  in  government  affairs,  and  his 
prime  minister  was  reported  to  be  a  "peculiarly 
bigoted  Buddhist. "  "On  the  other  hand,  persecu- 
tion on  account  of  religion  had  ceased,  and  the 
Christian  Karens  residing  within  the  jurisdiction 


196  KINCAID,  THK  HERO  MISSIONARY. 

of  Burmese  authority  enjoyed  a  comfortable  degree 
of  security  and  quietude.  It  was  also  rumored  that 
there  were,  at  that  time,  fifteen  Burmese  Christians 
at  the  capital,  one  of  whom  was  an  officer  of  the 
king,  with  a  thousand  men  under  his  charge,  and 
another  connected  with  the  king's  household ; 
which  seemed  to  imply,  if  the  king  was  acquainted 
with  the  facts,  that  he  was  not  particularly  hostile 
to  Christianity. 

They  tarried  but  eleven  days  in  Maulmain,  when 
they  took  passage  on  a  schooner  of  thirty-one  tons, 
manned  by  Mussulmen,  reaching  Rangoon  March 
5th,  which  Dr.  Kincaid  described  as  ".little  more 
than  one  wide  ruin"  since  the  fire  of  the  previous 
December.  Not  only  had  about  three-fourths  of 
the  city  been  swept  by  the  devouring  flames,  but  a 
' '  great  number  of  boats  and  several  ships  were 
burned,  hundreds  of  families  barely  escaping  with 
their  lives." 

Building  was  going  on  and  men  and  material 
were  in  demand 

Koladan  (or  Foreigner's  Street)  escaped  the 
ravages  of  the  fire.  The  buildings  were  owned 
and  occupied  by  Armenians,  Mussulmans  and 
Hindoos.      Dr.     Kincaid    went     to    the    building 


ENROUTE  AGAIN  FOR  BURMA.        1 97 

where  he  had  lived  nineteen  years  before,  and 
found  it  now  occupied  by  a  Hindoo  who  gave  him 
a  cordial  reception  and  a  room  to  occupy  while  in 
the  city. 

They  showed  themselves  at  the  custom-house, 
when  they  ^first  landed  and  had  their  baggage 
passed.  A  few  hours  later  they  were  called  for 
and  questioned  regarding  their  business ;  where 
they  came  from  ;  the  name  of  the  ships ;  name  of 
the  captain  ;  at  what  places  they  had  stopped 
on  the  way  ;  how  many  days  they  were  in  reach- 
ing Africa,  the  time  they  remained  there ;  how 
many  days  from  Africa  to  Maulmain  and  how 
many  days  they  spent  there,  *with  many  other 
questions  of  a  similar  character;  all  was  written 
down  with  minuteness. 

The  next  day  they  were  sent  for  and  questioned 
regarding  the  object  of  their  coming  to  Burma. 
They  were  asked,  "Are  you  Jesus  Christ's  men?" 
all  of  which  was  written  down,  then  read  to  them 
and  inquiry  made  as  to  the  correctness  of  tran- 
scribing. 

Saturday  of  the  same  week  they  were  sent 
for  again  and  questioned  relative  to  Dr.  Dawson's 


198  KINCAID,  THE  HERO  MISSIONARY. 

knowledge  of  medicine,  and  how  many  kinds  of 
diseases  he  could  cure. 

Dr.  Dawson  then  showed  them  an  illustrated 
volume  on  surgery.  The  officers  examined  the 
plates  with  care,  and  another  record  was  made. 
The  next  morning  the  viceroy  sent  for  Dr.  Kincaid, 
who  directed  the  secretary  to  inform  his  excellency 
that  this  was  a  sacred  day,  and  that  he  could  not 
attend  to  any  worldly  business.  This  seemed  sat- 
isfactory until  between  nine  and  ten  o'clock,  when 
the  secretary  came  and  told  Dr.  Kincaid  that  he 
would  be  called  for  early  next  morning,  and  was  to 
be  questioned  about  his  former  residence  in  Ava. 
The  secretary  manifested  no  small  degree  of 
anxiety,  thinking  they  were  contriving  some  plan 
to  get  Dr.  Kincaid  into  trouble.  He  was  a  fine 
young  man,  and  appeared  to  be  a  true  friend,  but 
was  very  timid,  more  so,  perhaps,  because  only 
a  short  time  before  an  English  merchant  had  been 
imprisoned  and  his  feet  put  in  the  stocks  because 
his  father,  as  they  alleged,  had  written  a  letter 
against  the  government  that  was  published  in  one 
of  the  Calcutta  papers.  It  cost  him  between  five 
hundred  and  six  hundred  rupees  to  get  out  of 
prison.      Several  foreigners  had  been  imprisoned 


ENROUTE  AGAIN  FOR  BURMA.        1 99 

during  the  past  six  months  on  the  most  frivolous 
pretenses,  and  money  extorted  from  them.  Early 
Monday  morning  Dr.  Kincaid  reported  to  the  cus- 
tom house  to  answer  questions  regarding  his  first 
years  in  Burma,  how  long  he  had  lived  in  Rangoon, 
how  long  at  Ava,  and  whatever  seemed  to  them 
desirable  to  know,  and  all  was  carefully  written 
down. 

One  of  the  officers  apologized  by  saying  it  was 
done  by  order  of  the  viceroy,  whose  authority  was 
supreme.  Dr.  Kincaid  replied  that  they  had  no 
objection  to  answering  any  questions  the  govern- 
ment was  disposed  to  ask.  They  were  treated  very 
kindly  by  all  the  officials,  who  had  known  Dr. 
Kincaid  before. 

The  viceroy  was  a  new  man,  as  also  all  the  high 
officers  of  the  empire. 

The  temper  and   policy  of  the  government  had 

* 

changed  amazingly  since  the  revolution  in  1837. 

Ko  Thah  A,  the  venerable  old  pastor,  called  on 
them.  The  news  of  their  arrival  spread  rapidly 
over  the  city  and  through  the  villages  adjacent, 
and  many  called,  among  them  two  young  men  who 
had  been  educated  in  Mrs.  Kincaid' s  school  in  Ava. 
Armenians,  Mohammedans  and  Hindoos  all  visited 


200  KINCAID,   THE  HKRO  MISSIONARY. 

the  former  teacher.  A  Jew,  also,  from  Bagdad, 
spent  two  evenings  listening  to  their  account  of 
the  world's  Messiah,  and  again  the  gospel  was  fall- 
ing from  consecrated  lips  upon  ears  not  accustomed 
to  hear  these  words  that  are  "power"  and  "life." 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

RESUMING   WORK. 

Dr.  Kincaid  visited  Rangoon  to  learn  whether  it 
would  be  possible  to  get  a  house  there  for  the  use 
of  his  family,  and,  being  successful,  he  returned  at 
once  to  Maulmain.  Soon  after  his  return,  reports 
were  current  in  Maulmain  that  the  governor  of 
Rangoon  had  dealt  severely  with  such  persons  as 
had  shown  the  American  teacher  any  favors  during 
his  short  stay  in  Rangoon.  These  reports  were 
accepted  by  many,  from  the  start,  as  true,  and  soon 
were  confirmed  by  letters  from  two  Englishmen. 
The  young  Hindoo  who  had  given  him  room  in  his 
house  was  thrown  into  prison,  and  compelled  to  pay 
a  fine  of  two  hundred  rupees;  while  Moung-po- 
gyau,  an  interpreter,  had  his  life  threatened  for 
daring  to  speak  a  word  in  his  favor  after  he  had 
gone. 

This  caused  a  diversity  of  opinion  about  the  pro- 
priety of  going  to  Rangoon  in  the  face  of  such 
hostile  measures. 


202  KINCAID,  THE  HERO  MISSIONARY. 

To  the  mind  of  Dr.  Kincaid,  however,  this  op- 
position did  not  appear  serious  enough  to  delay  for 
a  day  the  execution  of  his  plans,  and  accordingly 
he  hastened  his  preparations  to  leave.  Having 
engaged  a  schooner,  they  sailed  on 'the  i2th  of 
April,  and  on  the  morning  of  the  i6th  lay  at  anchor 
before  the  great  wharf. 

The  consternation  consequent  upon  the  arrival 
of  the  missionaries  at  Rangoon,  and  the  difficulties 
that  then  immediately  beset  them,  are  related  as 
follows  in  Dr.  Kincaid's  journal: 

''It  was  thought  extremely  doubtful  about  our 
being  allowed  to  land.  On  learning  this,  I  was 
anxious  to  get  all  on  shore  before  there  would  be 
time  to  issue  an  order  prohibiting  our  landing.  I 
hastened  back  to  the  vessel,  and  in  a  short  time 
both  families  wese  in  the  house  of  Captain  Potter. 
We  returned  as  soon  as  possible,  sent  our  beds, 
chairs,  and  a  few  boxes  of  clothing  to  the  custom 
house,  but  it  was  near  evening  before  they  passed. 
Coolies  were  sent  off  with  them  to  the  house  of  Joe 
Alley,  which  we  had  rented  before  leaving  Rangoon. 
When  the  old  man  saw  the  coolies  loaded  with 
baggage  rushing  into  his  compound,  he  and  several 
servants  raised  a  cry  of  alarm,  and  forbade  a  sin- 


RESUMING  WORK.  203 

gle  article  being  put  in  the  house.  I  came  up  just 
in  time  to  prevent  the  coolies  and  baggage  being 
thrust  into  the  street.  I  remonstrated;  told  him  he 
could  not  break  his  promise;  that  it  was  nearly 
dark,  and  that  our  ladies  and  children  could  not 
remain  in  the  street.  The  poor  old  Mussulman 
stroked  his  long  white  beard,  and  trembled  like 
an  aspen  leaf. 

He  was  so  agitated  that  he  talked  half  Burmese 
and  half  Hindoostani,  and  kef)t  saying  over  and 
over:  '^I  am  afraid — I  am  afraid  of  the  governor. 
Moung  Kinge  has  been  imprisoned  and  fined  two 
hundred  rupees;  a  writer  has  been  fined  one  hun- 
dred rupees,  and  Moung  Poll  Gyau  has  had  his  life 
threatened  and  has  gone  mad,  and  all  on  your 
account.  I  am  afraid,  sahib."  His  looks,  his 
actions,  his  voice,  all  told  how  dreadfully  fright- 
ened the  old  man  was. 

I  told  the  coolies  to  put  the  things  down  and 
bring  the  remainder.  The  poor  old  man  took  hold 
of  me  in  the  most  imploring  manner,  and  begged 
me  to  have  compassion  on  his  grey  beard. 
I  told  him  I  would  stand  between  him  and 
all  harm.  I  was  now  here  and  the  Governor 
would  harm  no  one  on  my  account.     At  length  he 


204  KINCAID,  THE  HERO    MISSIONARY. 

gave  a  sort  of  consent  to  let  us  sleep  one  night  in 
his  house.  Long  after  dark  we  had  all  assembled 
in  the  house  and  spread  our  mats  on  the  floor. 

Early  on  the  morning  of  the  17th  I  went  with 
Dr.  Dawson  on  board  the  schooner,  and  began 
sending  our  boxes  of  books  and  medicines  on  shore, 
fearing,  from  all  we  heard,  that  an  order  might 
come  prohibiting  the  landing  of  our  baggage. 
We  were  delayed  about  boats  and  coolies,  so  that 
our  baggage  did  -not  reach  the  custom-house 
until  five  o'clock,  and  but  little  of  it  was  passed. 

Joe  Alley  was  more  frightened  than  ever ;  he 
sent  his  son  in  the  evening  with  two  bottles  of 
rose  water,  and  told  the  governor  that  we  had 
come  into  his  house  and  he  wished  to  get  rid  of  us. 
The  governor  replied  that  he  must  send  us  off. 

Early  the  next  morning  the  governor  came 
to  the  custom-house  with  a  large  retinue  and 
we  were  summoned  to  appear  before  him. 

There  was  a  dense  crowd,  for  his  stern  oppres- 
sive course  against  every  one  who  had  rendered  us 
any  little  service,  had  awakened  the  greatest 
interest  to  know  how  he  would  proceed  now  that 
we  had  returned  with  our  families  and  baggage. 
Besides  Burmans  there  was  a  large  number  of  for- 


RESUMING  WORK.  20"; 

eigners,  Mohammedans,  Armenians  and  the  few 
English  in  the  place.  Without  ceremony  the  gov- 
ernor  began,  in  a  loud,  harsh  tone  of  voice,  to 
question  me  about  comimg  to  Burma.  "What 
have  you  come  here  for?  Who  invited  you? 
Your  object  is  to  overturn  the  king's  religion. 
You  have  been  driven  out  of  Burma  before.  Who 
gave  you  permission  to  come  here?"  and  thus 
he  kept  on  for  several  minutes. 

As  soon  as  he  gave  me  a  chance  to  speak  I 
replied:  "Your  excellency  must  be  aware  that 
when  I  lived  in  Ava  I  was  on  the  most  intimate 
terms  with  nearly  all  the  officers  of  the  govern- 
ment, and  was  treated  with  the  utmost  kindness  by. 
the  Mekara  prince  and  Prince  Thur-ra-wa-di.' 
When  I  left  Ava  the  king  urged  me  to  remain,  or 
if  I  left,  to  return  as  soon  as  possible,  and  bring  a 
printing  press  and  a  physician.  I  promised  to'^do 
so,  and  have  now  returned  as  the  king  desired.  So 
far  from  being  driven  out  of  Burma,  they  urged 
me  not  to  go  away." 

His  manner  was  at  once  changed.  He  began  to 
expatiate  on  the  beauties  of  Buddhism,  and  said 
that  my  object  was  to  overthrow  it.  After  a  good 
deal  of  this  sort  of  thing  he  said :   "You  can  remain 


206  KINCAID,  THE  HERO  MISSIONARY. 

here,  but  you  must  keep  in  the  house  and  do  noth- 
ing till  I  get  word  from  Ava."  He  then  called  a 
man  who  speaks  Hindoostani  as  well  as  Burmese, 
and  understands  a  little  English,  and  said:  ''  You 
must  not  enter  a  single  house,  or  go  abroad  any- 
where without  having  this  man  with  you."  Dr. 
Kincaid  was  told  by  several  persons,  not  an  hour 
after,  that  this  man  was  one  of  the  worst  spies 
about  the  court,  detested  by  all  foreigners. 

Things  looked  dark,  much  worse  than  had  been 
anticipated.  Having  been  requested  to  attend  a 
funeral.  Dr.  Kincaid  went,  without  paying  the 
slightest  regard  to  the  spy  who  was  to  accompany 
him. 

After  the  missionaries  had  withdrawn,  the 
governor  was  violent  in  his  expressions  against  Dr. 
Kincaid,  and  said  before  the  whole  crowd  of  people, 
foreigners  and  all,  that  he  would  not  mind  putting 
him  in  irons,  but  would  be  much  pleased  to  have 
Dr.  Dawson  remain. 

The  threat  to  put  Dr.  Kincaid  in  irons  spread 
like  fire  over  the  city,  and  on  reaching  Dr.  Kincaid 
caused  him  to  feel  a  perfect  rush  of  indignation. 
Had  the  governor  made  the  threat  in  his  presence 
it  would  have  been  more  manly,  but  to  wait  until 


RESUMING  WORK.  207 

he  had  gone  from  the  gathering  and  then  make 
such  a  threat  plainly  showed  a  spirit  of  cowardice 
and  disposition  to  stab  one  in  the  back. 

Dr.  Kincaid's  first  thought  was  to  tell  the  gov- 
ernor to  his  face  the  "contempt  he  felt  for  cowards 
and  tyrants,  but  by  the  time  the  funeral,  with  all 
its  solemnities,  was  over,  he  decided  to  pass  the 
whole  matter  in  silence." 

' '  Poor  old  Joe  Alley  heard  the  news,  and  was 
thrown  into  a  paroxysm  of  fear.  His  beard  seemed 
to  become  whiter,  and  he  looked  as  pale  as  death. 
All  he  could  say  was,  'Go!  go!  go!'  so  piteously 
that  I  could  not  withstand  him.  So,  promising  to 
get  a  place  for  our  baggage,  and  to  bring  no  more 
to  his  house,  I  started  off  at  once.  Of  course  I 
paid  no  attention  to  the  governor's  order  to  take 
his  interpreter  with  me.  It  was,  in  fact,  making 
me  a  prisoner,  and  I  would  recognize  no  such 
relation. 

From  an  early  hour  a  highly  respected  Moham- 
medan had  been  aiding  us  in  every  way  he  could. 
The  governor  noticed  this  in  the  afternoon  and 
ordered  him  to  be  beaten.  Instantly  some  three 
or  four  fellows  pounced  upon  him,  beat  him  in 
a  savage  manner,  and  kicked  him  out  of  the  com- 


2o8  KING  AID,  THE  HERO  MISSIONARY. 

pound,  —  two  hundred  people  looking  on.  I  went 
to  five  or  six  places  to  procure  store  room,  as  our 
baggage  was  being  rapidly  overhauled  and  tum- 
bled unceremoniously  out  of  the  custom-house. 

On  Saturday  it  was  all  passed  and  safely  stowed 
in  Captain  Potter's  godown.  During  the  day 
a  number  of  respectable  persons,  Burmans  and 
foreigners,  urged  us  to  go  to  the  governor  and 
'speak  sweet  words  to  him,'  but  I  resolved  to  seek 
no  interview,.  On  Monday,  however,  at  the  urgent 
request  of  many,  we  concluded  to  go,  and  started 
off,  but  learned  on  the  way  that  the  governor  was 
in  a  terrible  passion,  and  had  that  morning  beaten 
a  Mussulman  terribly.  At  five  o'clock,  P.  M.,  we 
set  off  again,  but  being  informed  that  about 
an  hour  before  the  same  man  was  beaten  so  dread- 
fully that  he  was  carried  off  to  die,  we  postponed 
our  visit.  The  next  morning  we  started  off  again 
and  again  turned  back,  having  learned  that  the 
governor,  that  very  morning,  had  had  a  serious 
quarrel  with  his  principal  wife.  A  report  was 
current  in  the  city  on  Monday  evening  and  through 
the  following  day,  that  the  governor  had  publicly 
threatened  my  life.  I  did  not  then,  and  do  not 
yet,  believe  there  was  sufficient  ground  for  such  a 


RESUMING  WORK.  209 

report.  But,  true  or  not  true,  I  was  fully  satisfied 
that  he  was  too  cowardly  to  commit  such  an  out- 
rage, and  would  have  cared  little  about  it  had 
it  not  reached  my  family." 

We  now  relinquished  altogether  the  idea  of 
going  to  him,  but  about  seven  in  the  evening  word 
came  from  the  governor  requesting  us  to  call.  We 
resolved  at  once  to  go,  though  it  was  very  dark  and 
two  miles  off.  We  found  him  in  an  inner  apart- 
ment, with  two  or  three  officers  and  a  few  servants, 
He  treated  us  courteously,  and  showed  us  several 
swords  made  by  a  Burman.  He  wished  us  to  praise 
them,  and  really  the  workmanship  was  praisewor- 
thy. He  made  many  inquiries  about  my  former 
acquaintances  in  Ava.  After  a  little  while  we  got 
into  an  animated  conversation  about  men  and 
things  in  the  Golden  City.  I  told  him  it  was  my 
intention  to  go  up  to  Ava  after  the  rains,  to  which 
he  made  no  reply.  We  remained  about  an  hour. 
When  we  were  about  leaving  he  said:  "I  shall 
write  to  the  king  and  make  strong  representations 
in  your  favor;  but  there  is  one  thing  you  must 
promise,  that  is,  to  give  no  tracts  to  the  people." 
I  did  not  ask  him  for  permission  to  remain;  I  did 


2IO  KINCAID,  THE  HERO  MISSIONARY. 

not  ask  him  to  write  to  the  king;  still,  I  thanked 
him  for  his  offer  to  write. 

We  had  that  very  day  rented  the  house  formerly 
occupied  by  Colonel  Burney,  now  owned  by  Moung 
Sa,  an  aged  Woon-gee  in  Ava.  Without  our 
knowledge  the  agent  came  in  to  obtain  the  gov- 
ernor's sanction,  which  was  given  promptly.  Then 
turning  to  us  he  said:  "That  is  a  very  suitable 
house  for  you."  All  passed  off  very  well.  After 
spending  a  week  of  anxiety,  the  storm  seemed  to 

have  spent  itself. 

****** 

On  the  3rd  of  May  a  Sera-dau-gyee  came,  by 
order  of  the  governor,  to  inform  us  that  a  royal 
message  had  that  day  arrived;  that  the  king  had 
heard  with  pleasure  of  the  American  teachers  who 
formerly  lived  in  Ava;  he  expressed  a  wish  that 
they  would  be  disposed  to  remain  in  Burma,  and 
that  they  might  enjoy  every  possible  favor.  The 
royal  secretary  was  attended  by  a  large  retinue,  and 
he  seemed  much  gratified  that  he  was  the  bearer 
of  such  news. 

The  large  hall  in  our  house  having  been  put  in 
order,  I  preached  in  English  and  in  Burmese  the 
first  Ivord's  day  in  May,  and  had  about  thirty  hear- 


RESUMING  WORK.  211 

ers;  among  them  were  three  Karens,  residing  about 
two  days'  journey  from  Rangoon.  One  of  them 
had  been  two  years  in  Brother  Binney's  school, 
and  was  an  intelligent  young  man.  He  was  the 
pastor  of  a  church  in  the  village  where  he  lived. 
He  inquired  earnestly  and  affectionately  after 
Brother  Binney  and  Brother  Vinton.  In  the  even- 
ing we  had  a  prayer  meeting — four  prayers  in 
Burmese,  one  in  Karen,  and  one  in  English;  also, 
singing  in  three  languages.  *=(.** 

Poor  Moung  Kinge  died  three  days  ago,  and  on 
the  following  day  was  followed  to  the  grave  by 
a  large  number  of  people.  He  was  much  respected 
by  the  entire  community.  This  was  the  second 
man  murdered  by  the  governor  after  our  arrival  at 
Rangoon.  One  was  whipped  to  death  and  Moung 
Kinge  was  frightened  to  death.  From  the  day  he 
was  imprisoned,  his  life  menaced,  and  the  threat 
ferociously  made  that  his  wife  and  children  should 
be  made  slaves  and  sent  in  chains  to  Ava,  Moung 
Kinge  sank  gradually  to  the  grave.  He  had  no 
fortitude,  and  the  shock  was  too  great  for  him. 
The  bitter  tears  of  his  widow  and  children  awak- 
ened in  me  the  emotions  of  unutterable  detestation 
toward  the  brutal  tyrant  who  caused  so  much  suf- 


212 

fering,  Mounge  Kinge's  crime  was  giving  Dr. 
Dawson  and  myself  the  use  of  a  room  seven  or 
eight  days  ;  for  this  he  was  frightened  to  death. 

Moung  Poh  Gyan  barely  survived  the  savage 
treatment  he  received.  Gladly  would  I  have  been 
in  the  place  of  these  young  men,  and  suffered  all 
the  indignities  and  cruel  threats  of  the  governor. 

Ko  A,  the  venerable  old  pastor,  called  occasion- 
ally, in  good  health  but  infirm  with  age.  The 
church  was  scattered  in  different  villages,  except  a 
few  superannuated  members.  Ko  A  was  too  feeble 
to  labor.  The  condition  of  the  Karens  was  little 
known  in  this  and  the  neighboring  province  of 
Bassein,  up  to  this  time.  The  greater  number  of 
the  Karen  churches  were  from  forty  to  one  hun- 
dred miles  distant. 

This  brief  outline  of  events  since  we  landed 
in  the  city  one  month  ago,  must  suffice  now.  You 
will  perceive  that  a  great  change  has  taken  place 
toward  us  on  the  part  of  the  government,  much  to 
the  astonishment  of  all,  Burmans  and  foreigners. 
We  may  meet  with  opposition,  we  may  expect  it, 
but  still,  with  the  divine  blessing,  nothing  is  too 
great  to  be  overcome.  I  preach  just  as  openly  as  I 
ever  did  in  any  land.      So  far  we  feel  encouraged 


RESUMING  WORK.  313 

and  hope  that  the  Lord  has  heard  our  prayers,  and 
the  prayers  of  his  people  in  behalf  of  these  mil- 
lions. Pray  for  us  that  we  may  be  wise  in  winning 
souls  to  Christ." 


CHAPTER  XX. 

IN  FAVOR  WITH  THE  PEOPLE. 

"When  a  man's  ways  please  the  Lord,  He  maketh 
even  his  enemies  to  be  at  peace  with  him." — Prov.  xvi.  7. 

In  addition  to  the  order  from  Ava,  which  reached 
Rangoon  on  the  third  of  May,  and  to  which  refer- 
ence was  made  in  the  preceding  chapter,  the 
governor  subsequently  received  another  communi- 
cation from  the  king,  and  Dr.  Kincaid  was  imme- 
diately summoned  by  the  viceroy  to  listen  to  the 
reading  of  the  royal  letter. 

When  assembled  in  lull  court,  and  the  missionary 
presented  himself,  as  directed,  a  secretary,  by  the 
governor's  directions,  read  aloud: 

''The  American  teachers  shall  be  allowed,  if 
they  wish,  at  any  time  they  may  choose,  to  come 
up  to  \}!\^  golden  feet ;  or,  if  they  prefer  remaining 
in  Rangoon,  are  not  to  be  molested." 

After  the  reading  of  this  royal  order  the  mission- 
aries at  once  commanded  universal  respect,  and  one 
could  hardly  fancy  the  altered  tone  of  the  officers 


MKETING  FAVOR. 


215 


and  people  towards  the  teachers.  Before  the  orders 
came  and  were  read,  the  officers  and  people  were 
haughty  and  proud  and  insolent.  Even  the  coolies 
in  the  streets  would  take  pains  to  jostle  the  mis- 
sionaries, while  the  underlings  in  office  were  inso- 
lent in  the  extreme.  But  after  the  reading  of  the 
order  this  was  no  longer  so. 

This  order  from  Ava  was  unsolicited  and  unex- 
pected, so  that  they  could  regard  it  in  no  other 
way  than  an  indication  of  Providence  for  them  to 
go  forward  in  their  work. 

The  object  of  Dr.  Kincaid  in  returning  to  Burma 
was  well  understood.  The  governor  himself  said 
it  was  to  overcome  the  king's  religion.  Of  our 
mission,  the  character  of  our  books  and  the  pecu- 
liarities of  our  religion  much  was  said  that  was 
true. 

They  asked  many  questions,  among  them,  Are 
you  "Jesus  Christ's  men?"  Dr.  Kincaid  said  yes, 
and  I  will  give  you  the  reason,  and  he  proceeded  to 
set  forth,  in  a  talk  of  twenty-five  minutes,  an  out- 
line of  the  Christian  religion,  without  interference 
on  the  part  of  any  one. 

On  the  29th  of  July  they  were  notified  that  the 
governor  expected  to  see  them. 


2l6  KINCAID,  THE  HERO  MISSIONARY. 

He  had  kindly  sent  up  a  petition  to  the  king,  at 
great  expense  had  brought  the  royal  order  from 
Ava,  and  expected  a  neat  sum  to  drop  into  his 
coffers.  And  Dr.  Kincaid  said  to  the  messenger: 
"You  may  tell  the  governor  that  it  is  an  outrage 
to  speak  of  expense." 

"I  dare  not  speak  such  words,  for  he  is  the  gov- 
ernor, and  you  had  better  see  him." 

"Very  well,  but  not  to-day." 

It  was  expected  that  a  demand  would  be  made  on 
the  missionaries  for  money,  amounting  to  about 
one  hundred  dollars,  and  Dr.  Kincaid  was  asked, 
in  case  of  such  a  demand,  what  he  should  do. 
"Refuse  to  pay  any  such  demand." 

It  was  urged,  as  governor,  he  had  power  to  com- 
pel.    To  which  Dr.  Kincaid  replied: 

' '  He  has  power  to  send  us  out  of  the  country, 
but  has  not  power  enough  to  compel  us  to  submit 
tamely  to  extortion  and  oppression." 

They  remained  quiet  two  or  three  days,  feeling 
no  anxiety  to  rush  matters.  But  were  urged  by 
some  friendly  natives  that  it  would  be  best  to  see 
the  governor,  taking  a  present  worth  fifteen  or 
twenty   dollars,    and   tell   the  governor  that  they 


MEETING  FAVOR.  217 

were  afraid  and  poor,  and  throw  themselves  on  his 
clemency. 

Neither  is  tri^e,  was  Dr.  Kincaid's  reply.  We 
are  not  afraid,  nor  are  we  so  poor  as  to  beg.  Had 
the  governor  a  just  claim  we  would  pay  it,  but  will 
not  tamely  submit  to  tyranny,  which  would  be  only 
to  invite  outrage  and  oppression. 

On  July  31st,  Dr.  Kincaid  appeared  before  the 
governor  with  a  present  worth  about  eight  rupees, 
four  dollars.  They  were  very  kindly  received,  and 
among  other  inquiries  made  was  when  the  mission- 
aries intended  going  to  Ava.  When  informed  they 
purposed  going  at  the  close  of  the  rainy  season, 
"You  are  right,"  said  the  governor.  "It  is  both 
difficult  and  dangerous  to  go  up  during  the  rains. 
When  you  are  ready  to  go  I  shall  furnish  you  with 
the  expense  of  the  journey." 

No  one  who  saw  him  would  have  supposed  him 
to  be  the  governor,  with  whom  they  had  to  deal 
only  about  three  months  before. 

While  disposed  to  be  somewhat  conciliatory  in 
his  personal  relations,  he  seemed  anxious,  also,  to 
convey  an  impression  that  his  views  were  to  a 
degree  changed  respecting  Christianity;  and  speak- 

15 


2l8 

ing  to  Dr.  Kincaid  one  day  on  the  subject,  in  the 
presence  of  the  court,  he  said : 

"One  thing  about  your  religion  I  do  not  like.  It 
aims  to  destroy  every  other,  and  that  is  uncharita- 
ble. Your  religion  is  good,  but  you  allow  not  ours 
to  be  good."  To  this  Dr.  Kincaid  replied  as  fol- 
lows: "Christianity  designs  to  bring  all  mankind 
to  love  God  supremely,  and  to  love  others  as  them- 
selves. This  makes  men  wise,  and  good,  and 
happy." 

"You  are  getting  all  the  people  over  to  your 
side,"  said  the  governor,  "for  you  make  them 
think  well  of  yourselves  and  of  your  doctrine." 

The  intolerant  spirit  of  Christianity  was  to  many 
a  reason  for  rejecting  it;  whereas  they  should  have 
seen  in  its  purpose  to  supplant  every  other  religion 
— to  have  the  whole  heart  or  none — its  purpose  to 
perpetuate  purity  of  heart  and  life  in  its  adherents 
in  all  lands,  and  not  compromise  and  destroy  its 
purity  by  adopting  from  this  religion  enough  to 
please  and  win  its  old  adherents;  enough  of  that  to 
make  it  popular  with  the  masses,  and  leave  them 
in  a  state  of  delusion.  The  Eternal  God  must  be 
the  real  object  of  all  true  worship — the  Holy  Spirit 
leading  us  through  the  Son  from  death   and  sin 


MEETING  FAVOR.  319 

into  life  and  fellowship  with  God,  and  adding  us 
thus  to  the  number  of  the  ransomed,  robed  in  the 
righteoiisuess  of  Calvary. 

"An  official  high  in  rank  said:  'These  teach- 
ers have  all  sorts  of  books,  and  maps  of  all  the 
countries  of  the  world,  and  globes  that  represent 
the  earth  as  round  as  an  orange,  and  that  it  turns 
round  every  day,  and  that  the  sun  stands  still. 
Does  not  this  go  to  destroy  Gaudama's  religion?" 
"True,"  said  the  governor;  "this  makes  our 
religion  false." 

Dr.  Kincaid  replied:  "Whether  the  sun  goes 
round  the  earth  or  the  earth  around  the  sun,  is  a 
question  that  belongs  to  science  and  not  to 
religion." 

God  favored  and  strengthened  the  faith  of  Dr. 
Kincaid,  and  we  find  him  enlisted  for  the  evangel- 
ization of  Rangoon,  and  for  the  spread  of  the 
gospel  through  the  whole  length  and  breadth  of 
the  empire. 

The  scattered  members  of  the  Burman  church 
now  began  to  gather  round  him;  representatives 
of  churches  from  distant  towns  came  in  to  express 
their  congratulations.  Others  called  to  solicit 
books,  and  on  every  hand  he  was  permitted  to  see 


220  KINCAID,  THE  HERO  MISSIONARY. 

the    most    cheering    tokens   of    the   divine  favor. 

''The  native  brethren  sent  to  visit  the  Karen 
churches  east  of  Rangoon,  and  north  and  north- 
west, brought  back  most  cheering  reports,  stating 
that  in  every  Christian  household  they  found  fam- 
ily worship  maintained  morning  and  evening,  and 
on  each  first  day  of  the  week  they,  met  four  times 
for  public  service. 

The  news  of  Dr.  Kincaid's  arrival  at  Rangoon 
had  preceded  these  messengers,  and  when  these 
devoted  native  Christians  heard  how  roughly  the 
authorities  treated  Dr.  Kincaid,  they  prayed,inces- 
santly  that  he  might  not  be  driven  from  the 
country. 

In  one  village  they  spent  a  Lord's  day  with 
a  church  numbering  more  than  four  hundred  mem- 
bers and  when  they  learned  from  the  letters  borne 
by  these  messengers  that  they  were  constantly 
remembered  in  the  prayers  of  the  teachers,  they 
were  moved  to  tears  and  many  wept  aloud  for  joy. 
From  the  pastor  of  this  church  they  bore  to 
Dr.  Kincaid  the  following  simple  and  touching 
letter. 

"May  the  grace  and  fellowship  of  the  Father, 
Son  and  Holy  spirit  be  with  you,  with  my  love 


MEETING  FAVOR.  a2l 

and  the  love  of  all  the  sons  and  daughters  of  this 
church.  I  am  one  of  the  least  of  all  the  disciples 
and  know  but  little  of  the  divine  word.  Divine 
grace  has  made  me  a  teacher  of  the  gospel,  and  by 
the  sacred  imposition  of  hands  I  am  made  a  pastor. 
Daily  I  study  the  Bible  and  pray  for  a  larger  meas- 
ure of  the  Holy  Spirit,  so  as  to  teach  and  guide 
this  flock  of  little  ones. 

I  have  but  little  knowledge  and  can  teach  only 
what  I  know.  I,  the  pastor,  and  all  the  church 
rejoiced  greatly  when  we  heard  that  you  had  come 
into  this  Burman  kingdom,  and  cease  not  to  pray 
for  you.  Our  Father  who  is  in  heaven  will  hear 
our  prayers. 

We  all  desire  to  see  you,  and  to  hear  more  fully 
the  deep  things  of  God,  that  we  may  grow  and  be 
established  in  every  virtue." 

The  ardent  love  of  the  Karens  for  the  gospel  was 
never  more  strikingly  illustrated  than  in  the  efforts 
and  sacrifices  many  made,  about  this  time,  to  pos- 
sess portions  of  the  word  of  God.  Some  came  from 
a  great  distance,  through  districts  infested  with 
robbers  and  amidst  almost  incessant  storms. 

Among  these,  Dr.  Kincaid  makes  special  mention 
of  two  Christian  boys  from  the  province  of  Pauta- 


222 

nan,  one  hundred  and  thirty  miles  from  Rangoon. 
They  had  been  sent  by  the  church,  with  a  letter, 
requesting  ten  New  Testaments,  a  copy  of  Pilgrim's 
Progress,  seven  tracts  and  two  hymn  books. 

The  books  were  carefully  rolled  up  and  put  in 
the  bottom  of  a  basket,  and  then  the  basket  filled 
with  rice  and  dried  fish.  This  done,  they  gave  the 
parting  hand,  and,  in  tremulous  voice  said,  "Pray 
for  us  that  we  may  be  delivered  from  the  calamity 
of  falling  into  the  hands  of  ofiicers  with  these 
books." 

Toward  the  close  of  the  year  inquirers  multiplied 
and  numbers  of  hopeful  converts  presented  them- 
selves for  baptism. 

One,  in  relating  the  exercises  of  his  mind,  said 
that,  about  three  months  previous,  his  heart  was 
much  perplexed  through  a  dream.  He  imagined 
himself  going  toward  Shway  Dagong,  and  when 
not  far  off  it  crumbled  down  into  a  mass  of  ruins. 
He  woke  up  in  great  distress,  feeling  that  all  his 
life  long  he  had  been  rendering  the  homage  due 
only  to  God,  to  that  senseless  mass  of  ruins.  He 
betook  himself  to  prayer  and  the  reading  of  the 
New  Testament. 


MEETING  FAVOR.  2^^ 

The  light  of  truth  shined  in  upon  his  soul,  and 
he  found  peace  in  believing. 

Says  Dr.  Kincaid,  our  baptism  took  place  between 
three  and  four  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  in  the  royal 
tank,  a  beautiful,  clear  sheet  of  water,  nearly  four 
miles  in  circumference.  It  contained  several  finely 
wooded  islands,  and  was  surrounded  on  three  sides 
by  groves  having  a  park-like  appearance. 

Under  the  deep,  dark  foliage  of  a  clump  of  aged 
trees,  on  the  green  bank,  sloping  down  to  the 
water's  edge,  with  the  glittering  spires  of  a  hun- 
dred pagodas  before  them,  they  kneeled  in  prayer 
to  Him  who  said,  ^Lo  I  am  with  you.'  The  depth 
of  feeling  and  joy  of  heart  felt  on  that  occasion,  as 
four  Burmans  and  five  Karens  went  down  into  the 
baptismal  grave,  rendering  homage  to  Him  who  is 
the  'resurrection  and  the  life,'  no  tongue  can  tell 
nor  artist  paint. 

Earnest  inquirers  received  the  word  of  God  into 
their  hearts,  and  numbers  no  longer  attempted  any 
defense  of  the  old  religion,  but  were  free  to  say 
'Gaudama  cannot  stand.' 

After  having  Gaudama' s  religion  for  a  thousand 
years,  we  are  a  poor  ignorant  people. 

Fields  were  whitening  for  the  harvest  on  every 


224  KINCAID,   THE  HERO  MISSIONARY. 

hand,  with  no  serious  opposition  to  missionary 
efforts.  People  of  all  ranks  and  conditions  were 
now  coming  as  earnest  seekers  after  truth  and  sal- 
vation. An  officer  of  high  rank,  with  his  wife  and 
twenty-five  or  thirty  attendants,  called  one  evening 
on  Dr.  Kincaid  and  his  family,  and  gave  them 
very  urgent  invitations  to  return  the  call. 


CHAPTER  XXI. 

LABORS  INTERRUPTED  BY  WAR. 

While  diligently  preaching  God's  message  of  love, 
The  war  cloud  covered  the  heavens  above; 
The  roar  and  the  rattle  of  saber  and  gun 
Told  Dr.  Kincaid,  there  preaching  was  done 
'Till  the  war  cloud  burst,  or  moved  on  its  way, 
And  no  one  could  tell  how  long  it  might  stay. 
Of  the  harvest,  he,  there,  had  already  sown. 
What  portion  the  Lord  would  get  for  His  own; 
So  he  turned  for  a  time  away  from  the  cloud. 
The  roar  of  the  battle  so  fearful  and  loud. 
And  cheerfully  sowed  in  Maulmain  the  seed 
That  was  then,  as  now,  the  heathen  world's  need. 
The  battle  still  raged,  the  field  was  o'erspread 
With  bodies  of  wounded,  of  dying  and  dead. 
And  all  day  long  'mid  the  dying  he  went, 
As  an  angel  of  love  to  sufferers  sent. 
Binding  the  wouftd.  and  pointing  the  soul 
To  Jesus,  who  makes  men  every  whit  whole; 
Catching  the  sad,  low- whispered  farewell 
As  the  soul  took  its  flight  for  heaven  or  hell. 

During  a  residence  of  more  than  six  months  in 
Rangoon,  Dr.  Kincaid  had  been  cheered  by  scenes 
and  incidents  of  extraordinary  interest;  but  in  the 
midst  of  these  encouragements,  and  when  he  had 
nearly  completed  preparations  for  proceeding  to  the 


226  KINCAID,  THE  HERO  MISSIONARY. 

capital  in  pursuance  of  his  original  purpose,  and 
under  favor  of  the  royal  invitation,  a  new  aspect 
was  put  on  the  posture  of  things  by  the  arrival  of 
a  war  steamer  at  Rangoon,  demanding  on  behalf  of 
the  East  India  government,  redress  of  grievances. 
For  a  long  time  British  subjects  had  suffered  from 
the  Burmese  government  the  greatest  injustice. 
Without  cause  they  had  often  been  fined  and 
imprisoned,  and,  such  was  the  terror  under  which 
they  were  living,  that  they  were  compelled  to 
endure  these  wrongs  in  silence,  knowing  that  the 
slightest  whisper  of  dissatisfaction  would  only  be 
visited  by  ten-fold  greater  outrages,  and  even  with 
cruel  tortures  and  death.  At  length  tidings  of  the 
doings  of  the  government  towards  British  subjects 
reached  the  ears  of  Commodore  Lambert,  and, 
after  taking  the  necessary  steps  to  satisfy  himself 
of  the  truth  of  these  reports,  he  came  to  demand 
redress  of  the  Burmese  authorities. 

The  immediate  cause  of  Commodore  Lambert's 
appearance  in  Rangoon  with  his  ships  of  war,  was 
a  statement  verified  as  correct  and  signed  by  Dr. 
Kincaid. 

While  the  English  merchants  residing  at  Ran- 
goon were  familiar  with  the  deeds  of  injustice  and 


*  INTERRUPTED  BY  WAR.  227 

violence  inflicted  on  their  own  countrymen  by  the 
Burmans,  they  were  there  to  make  money  and  not 
to  right  the  wrongs  inflicted  on  their  countrymen. 

The  English  resident  was  powerless  without 
a  statement  of  grievances  to  give  relief.  This 
statement  the  merchants  with  one  consent  declined 
to  make. 

When  the  matter  became  intolerable,  and  one 
ship  owner  had  been  compelled  to  pay  6,000 
rupees  ($3,000)  without  one  provoking  cause,  Dr. 
Kincaid  was  commenting  on  the  situation  of 
affairs  and  asked  the  English  resident  why  he  did 
not  seek  relief  for  his  countrymen.  "Not  a  mer- 
chant," said  Col.  Burney,  "will  make  a  state- 
ment," lest  it  injure  his  business.  "Well,"  said 
Dr.  Kincaid,  "write  up  the  facts  and  I  will  sign  a 
statement."  By  this  he  became,  using  his  own 
words,  "the  top,  bottom  and  sides  of  a  war 
between  Burma  and  England."  One  hour  longer 
on  shore  would  have  made  him  a  prisoner  of  war. 
His  library  and  household  effects  were  scattered 
and  destroyed;  and  while  there  was  no  law  in  Eng- 
land allowing  him  to  be  paid  for  his  effects,  Parlia- 
ment made  an  exception  in  Dr.  Kincaid' s  case  and 
in  some  measure  compensated  him  for  his  losses. 


228  KINCAID,  THK  HERO  MISSIONARY. 

which  aided  in  making  comfortable  his  declining 
years. 

On  the  evening  of  the  24th  of  November,  1851, 
a  frigate  and  four  armed  steamers  came  before  the 
city  and  immediately  everything  was  thrown  into 
the  utmost  state  of  alarm.  The  governor  threat- 
ened to  set  the  city  on  fire,  and  in  every  house  the 
foreigners  were  at  work  securing  their  papers  and 
property.  Great  gongs  were  beating  in  every 
direction.  A  report  was  current  that  all  who  wore 
hats  (Europeans)  would  be  seized  and  carried  off  as 
hostages.  Near  midnight  Dr.  Kincaid  was  sent 
for  to  go  to  the  governor's,  nearly  two  miles  dis- 
tant. Without  hesitation  he  set  off,  but  was  met 
by  messengers  countermanding  the  order.  On  the 
following  morning  the  governor,  with  a  large 
guard,  appeared  on  the  wharf,  and  there  issued  an 
order  that  any  person,  foreigner  or  native,  who 
should  come  down  to  any  of  the  wharves,  or  appear 
on  the  bank  of  the  river,  should  be  instantly  be- 
headed. This  order  was  published  through  the 
city  by  beat  of  gong  and  public  crier.  On  hear- 
ing this  Dr.  Kincaid  went  immediately  to  the  main 
wharf,  where  there  were  several  distinguished 
officers  and  a  guard,  and  remonstrated  with  them 


INTERRUPTED  BY  WAR.  229 

in  strong  terms  on  the  insane  course  they  were 
pursuing — working  themselves  and  the  people  into 
a  panic,  when  there  was  all  possible  evidence  that 
the  ships  were  come  on  a  peaceful  mission — to  pre- 
vent, not  to  make  war.  They  felt  it,  but  were 
disposed  to  be  blind  to  the  innumerable  acts  of 
injustice  and  cruelty  inflicted  on  all  classes  of 
people. 

Commodore  Lambert  having  sent  a  deputation 
of  four  officers,  with  a  communication  to  the  vice- 
roy, he  immediately  called  for  Dr.  Kincaid,  and  in 
the  presence  of  some  fifty  of  his  great  chiefs, 
desired  to  know  from  him  whether  the  translation 
of  the  commodore's  letter  was  correct.  After  care- 
fully reading  both  he  was  assured  that  it  had  been 
faithfully  rendered.  "What  does  it  mean?"  said 
the  governor.  "I  am  accused  of  being  a  bad  man, 
committing  outrages  on  Her  Britannic  Majesty's 
subjects,  and  yet  the  letter  does  not  specify  in  what 
way  I  have  done  this.     Tell  me  what  I  should  do. " 

"  I  am  not  competent,"  said  Dr,  Kincaid,  "to 
advise  in  these  matters." 

"Do  not  tell  me  so,"  he  said,  "  you  have  more 
books  and  maps  than  all  the  other  people  in  the 


230 

city,  and  you  know  what  the  English  want  and 
what  I  can  do." 

To  get  rid  of  his  importunities  Dr.  Kincaid  said: 
"You  can  write  to  the  commodore  and  ask  for  an 
explanation." 

This  struck  him  favorably.  Then  he  inquired 
whether  the  English  came  for  peace  or  war.  "For 
peace  undoubtedly,"  Dr.  Kincaid  replied.  "If 
they  had  come  for  war,  instead  of  three  or  four 
ships  they  would  have  had  twenty-five  or  thirty." 

"After  a  few  days, "  says  Dr.  Kincaid,  in  his 
journal,  "the  governor  recovered  in  some  measure 
from  the  panic  into  which  he  was  thrown,  and 
commenced  hostile  preparations,  buying  up  all  the 
muskets  in  the  city,  collecting  guns  from  all  the 
neighboring  cities,  and  fortifying  the  heights  of 
Shway  Dagong,  and  building  stockades  at  Kee- 
men-ding,  four  miles  above  the  city.  He  collected 
from  the  surrounding  villages  about  ten  thousand 
men,  and  invited  to  his  aid  a  celebrated  robber 
chief  with  all  his  followers,  thus  getting  together 
all  the  desperate  characters  of  the  lower  provinces. 
As  yet  we  felt  safe  in  the  city,  as  the  majority  of 
the  inhabitants  were  foreigners,  but  on  the  4th  and 
5th    of    December    orders    were    issued,    it    was 


INTERRUPTED  BY  WAR.  23 1 

reported,  to  attack  the  foreigners,  plunder  them, 
cut  their  throats,  and  burn  the  city.  Bodies  of 
armed  men  and  of  desperate  characters  were  con- 
stantly parading  the  streets.  Foreigners  were  all 
armed, and  keeping  ceaseless  watch  on  their  houses. 
Commodore  Lambert  very  kindly  gave  me  an 
invitation  to  place  the  ladies  and  children  on  board 
of  one  of  his  vessels,  and  the  stern  cabins  of  the 
steamer  Tenasserini  were  prepared  for  them;  but 
Captain  Baker,  of  the  Duchess  of  Argyle^  a  large 
merchant  ship,  invited  us  to  take  refuge  in  his 
vessel,  which  seemed  preferable,  as  the  ships  of 
war  were  threatened  with  an  attack  by  fire-rafts. 
On  the  evening  of  the  5th  we  took  Mrs.  Kincaid 
and  Mrs.  Dawson,  with  the  little  children,  to  a 
private  wharf,  where  a  boat  was  ready  to  take  them 
on  board  the  Duchess.  The  next  day  the  young 
ladies  went  on  board.  Dr.  Dawson  and  myself  re- 
maining on  shore  most  of  the  time.  We  packed 
up  our  books  and  the  most  valuable  part  of- our 
baggage,  and  placed  them  in  fire-proof  godowns 
belonging  to  Mr.  Birrell.  The  ladies  and  children 
were  now  safe,  and  there  was  little  danger  to  our 
property  from  fire,  but  it  was  necessary  to  keep  a 
constant  watch,  especially  by  night,  as  the  governor 


232  KINCAID,   THE  HERO  MISSIONARY. 

threatened  to  turn  lopse  these  robbers,  now  about 
500  strong.  He  had  openly  and  repeatedly  declared 
his  intention  of  taking  the  lives  of  eio^ht  persons, 
whom  he  named,  among  whom  I  was  included. 
We  regarded  his  threats  as  the  ravings  of  a  mad- 
man ;  still  kept  away  from  the  new  city,  for  I  knew 
if  he  should  muster  courage  to  commence  hostili- 
ties, he  would  be  anxious  to  have  me  for  a  translator 
and  interpreter. 

*  *  5;=  >k  *  * 

A  little  after  dark  on  the  loth  of  December,  as 
I  was  passing  along  one  of  the  principal  streets,  I 
was  suddenly  seized  by  some  eight  or  nine  Burmans, 
who  partly  carried,  partly  dragged  me  into  a  dark, 
narrow  lane.  There  I  was  surrounded  by  forty  or 
fifty  armed  men.  A  long  and  not  very  pleasant 
altercation  followed,  they  threatening  me,  and  I, 
in  turn,  threatening  them;  they  insisting  on  taking 
me  to  the  governor,  and  I  insisting  on  going  to  the 
custom  house.  At  length  I  got  to  the  custom 
house.  I  hardly  know  how.  A  bundle  of  clothes 
from  the  washerman,  which  a  Burman  carried  after 
me,  was  the  excuse  for  this  outrage.  The  custom 
house  officers  interfered,  and,  after  a  long  dispute, 
these  guards  went  to  the  governor  for  an  order  to 


INTERRUPTED  BY  WAR.  233 

take  me  out.  It  was  nearly  two  miles  to  the  gov- 
ernor's, and  while  they  were  gone  the  custom  house 
officers  hurried  me  off  on  board  ship. 

This,  it  seems,  annoyed  his  excellency,  for  the 
next  afternoon  he  sent  an  officer  to  the  commodore 
complaining  that  I  had  taken  my  family  aboard 
ship  without  his  permission,  and  so  had  broken  the 
laws  of  Burma.  Commodore  Lambert  replied  that 
that  law  might  hold  in  reference  to  Burman  sub- 
jects, but  not  in  reference  to  British  subjects  or 
persons  claiming  British  protection.  He  drew  up 
a  letter  and  sent  it  to  the  governor  by  one  of  his 
officers  and  Mr.  Edwards,  his  translator,  in  which 
he  stated,  that  the  amity  existing  between  the  gov- 
ernment of  the  United  States  and  Her  Britannic 
Majesty  rendered  it  imperative  on  his  part  to  de- 
mand of  his  excellency  the  punishment  of  those 
men  who  had  seized  and  maltreated  me  the  evening 
before,  in  the  streets  of  Rangoon.  The  governor 
expressed  much  regret  at  what  had  taken  place, 
and  said  the  men  should  be  punished.  If  I  would 
point  them  out.  Of  course  this  was  impossible,  for 
the  men  were  withdrawn  from  the  old  city.  * 

The  following  is  a  copy  of  the  letter  addressed 

16 


234  KINCAID,   THE  HERO  MISSIONARY. 

by  Commodore  Lambert  to  the  governor  of  Ran- 
goon: 

Jason  M.  Southey,  Secretary: 

On  board  Her  Britannic  Majesty's  ship  of  war 
Fox^  at  anchor  off  the  town  of  Rangoon,  loth 
of  December,  1851. 

To  the  Governor  of  Rangoon: 

It  having  been  represented  to  me  by  the  Rev- 
erend Mr.  Kincaid,  a  native  of  the  United  States 
of  America,  who  is  now  living  on  board  the  Brit- 
ish ship  Duchess  of  Argyle^  that  while  on  the 
pier  at  Rangoon,  last  night,  as  he  was  about  to 
embark  to  join  his  family,  he  was  seized  by  some 
'persons  said  to  be  in  the  employ  of  the  Burmese 
government,  and  grossly  insulted  while  being  con- 
veyed to  the  custom  house,  where  he  was  detained 
for  two  hours.  In  the  absence  of  any  representative 
of  his  country,  a  nation  in  cordial  alliance  with 
Her  Britannic  Majesty,  I  call  on  you,  as  governor 
of  Rangoon,  to  cause  inquiry  to  be  made,  and  to 
punish  the  offenders  who  have  dared  to  insult  this 
gentleman,  and  also  to  take  measures  to  prevent 
a  recurrence  of  such  disgraceful  conduct. 

I  have  the  honor  to  subscribe  myself, 

(Signed)  George  Robert  Lambert, 

Commodore,  in  charge  of  Her  Britannic  Majesty's 

Naval  Forces,  employed  on  these  coasts. 


INTERRUPTED  BY  WAR.  235 

On  the  12th  I  went  on  shore  again.  I  had 
learned  that  three  Portuguese,  the  tools  of  a  Jesuit, 
had  made  the  governor  believe  that  I  was  at  the 
bottom  of  the  English  expedition.  This  was  the 
secret  of  his  hostility  to  me. 

Within  a  few  days  the  governor  of  Dalla  received 
orders  to  place  his  troops  at  the  disposal  of  the 
viceroy  of  Rangoon.  Accordingly,  fifteen  hundred 
men  crossed  the  river  early  on  the  morning  of  the 
19th,  uttering  the  most  savage  yells.  On  the  i8th 
one  thousand  men  arrived  from  Prome.  After  all, 
the  only  men  the  governor  could  depend  on  were 
the  robbers.  The  peasantry,  that  made  up  four- 
fifths  of  his  army,  would  throw  away  their  muskets 
and  run  at  the  firing  of  the  first  gun.  The  officers 
threatened  to  place  Karen  Christians  in  the  fore 
front  of  the  battle  if  the  English  came  on  shore. 
Three  hundred  of  the  disciples  were  on  duty  at  the 
great  pagoda.  The  churches  were  sending  messen- 
gers to  us  almost  daily  to  inquire  how  things  were, 
and  to  let  us  know  their  situation.  Few  of  them 
slept  in  their  houses  for  fear  of  robbers.  Our 
hearts  bled  for  them.  We  could  only  say  to  them, 
"Look  to  Him  who  took  care  of  Elijah  in  the 
desert."     The  Burman  peasantry,  heathen  as  well 


236  KINCAID,  THE  HERO  MISSIONARY. 

as  Christian,  were  also  sending  messages  to  us, 
expressing  the  hope  that  the  English  would  put  an 
end  to  the  brutal  tyranny  under  which  they  had 
suffered  so  long.  Among  our  more  than  ten  thou- 
sand disciples,  besides  hundreds  who  were  "almost 
Christians,"  there  was  earnest  prayer  to  Him  who 
ruleth  over  all. 

Through  a  merciful  providence  we  had  not  left 
for  Ava.  We  had  procured  one  boat,  and  were 
just  settling  the  price  of  another,  when  the  war 
ships  arrived.  The  Lord  "ordereth  all  things 
well." 

As  every  effort  for  amicable  adjustment  failed, 
war  was  inevitable.  The  mission  families  were  in 
peril,  and  had  only  one  hour  to  take  refuge  on 
ship  board. 

One  hour  more  and  we  would  have  been  prison- 
ers. Many  foreigners  failed  to  escape  and  were 
loaded  with  chains  and  crowded  into  loathsome 
prisons.  Some  died  under  their  sufferings  and 
others  were  repeatedly  ordered  out  for  execution 
and  then  remanded  to  prison." 

As  it  was  impossible  to  calculate  how  long  these 
hostilities  would  continue,  the  missionaries 
deemed  it  prudent  to  seek  a  refuge  in  Maulmain. 


INTERRUPTED  BY  WAR.  237 

After  remaining  there  about  three  months,  how- 
ever, Dr.  Kincaid,  leaving  his  family  behind  him, 
determined  to  return  to  Rangoon.  The  very  day 
of  his  arrival  the  war  was  virtually  terminated  by 
the  destruction  of  the  great  fortress,  which  had 
been  defended  by  30,ooo'Burmans,  with  over  two 
hundred  mounted  guns.  "From  seven  o'clock  in 
the  morning  till  evening  of  that  day,"  says  Dr. 
Kincaid,  "I  spent  in  the  field-hospital  among  the 
wounded  and  dying.  At  night  I  walked  back  two 
miles  to  the  ship,  among  the  dead  and  dying  Bur- 
mans  strewed  on  the  battlefield.  That  was  a 
terrible  day,  and  I  thought  continually  of  our  suf- 
fering disciples.  After  all,  their  sufferings  had 
hardly  begun.  The  great  Burman  army  was 
shattered  into  fragments,  and  now,  in  groups 
of  from  one  to  three  hundred,  they  were  ravaging 
the  country,  burning  villages,  slaughtering  the 
cattle  and  robbing  the  people.  I  took  up  my 
abode  in  an  old  building,  having  a  great  number 
of  idols  in  it.  Having  cleared  out  the  idols  and 
cobwebs,  one  large  room  was  converted  into  a 
chapel.  A  Karen  deputation  found  me  the  third 
day  after  the  battle,  and  then  there  was  coming  and 
going  in  one  continued  stream.      The  Burman  dis- 


238  KINCAID,  THE  HERO  MISSIONARY. 

ciples,  also,  came  in  from  their  various  hiding 
places,  and  with  them  many  other  Burmans  took 
refuge  under  my  building." 

In  the  following  June,  Dr.  Kincaid  was  again 
joined  by  his  family  from  Maulmain,  and,  having 
set  things  in  order,  every>  department  of  missionary 
work  moved  on  as  they  never  had  seen  it  before.  The 
people's  hearts  were  softened  like  wax.  The  arm 
of  the  Lord  was  laid  bare,  and  they  had  Pentacostal 
seasons  and  baptisms  every  Sunday.  From  several 
villages  where  we  sent  preachers  and  school  teach- 
ers, came  cheering  accounts.  Two  entire  villages 
turned  their  buildings  into  chapels  and  school 
houses,  and  sent  to  us  a  request  to  be  taught  the 
ways  of  God  more  perfectly. 

Within  a  few  days  they  had  buried  two  Christian 
women,  one  of  them  the  oldest  member  of  the 
church,  about  ninety-three  years  of  age.  Till  the 
very  last  she  retained  her  mental  powers  remark- 
ably. She  possessed  much  faith,  and  spoke  often 
of  her  desire  to  depart  and  be  with  Christ.  At  the 
last  communion  season  she  was  borne  to  the  chapel, 
and  at  the  close  expressed  her  joy  at  being  once 
more  permitted  to  unite  in  this  holy  service. 

We  learned  from  Mr.  Marsh  man,  of  Serampore 


INTERRUPTED  BY  WAR. 


239 


editor  of  the  Friend  of  India^  that  about  this  time 
the  principles  of  Christianity  had  taken  deep  root 
in  the  hearts  of  some  12,000,  and  through  the§e  a 
large  amount  of  moral  influence  was  brought  to 
bear  on  thousands  more.  The  churches  were  scat- 
ered  all  the  way  from  the  seaboard  to  Prome.  They 
now  had  at  school  in  Rangoon  two  hundred  and 
fifty  young  persons,  preparing  to  go  back  to  their 
villages,  some  to  teach  and  preach  among  their 
countrymen.  About  forty  native  preachers  were 
supported  by  congregations  over  the  country.  The 
intelligence  of  recent  events  in  Burma  had  aroused 
to  new  energy  the  friends  of  missions  in  America, 
and  Dr.  Kincaid  had  no  doubt  but  they  would  be 
sustained  by  needful  aid.  It  was  his  hope  to  see 
churches  raised  up  along  the  whole  line  of  this 
river  to  the  Hukang  valley.  Then  they  could 
stand  on  the  borders  of  Western  China,  and  on  the 
upper  waters  of  the  great  Cambodia,  and  could 
reach,  by  books  and  preaching,  untold  millions  in 
the  center  of  Eastern  Asia.  He  said  once,  that  he 
almost  wished  he  had  been  born  thirty  years  later 
in  the  Christian  era,  that  he  might  have  seen 
Christianity  pouring  its  light  over  these  vast 
regions ;  yet  he  could  but  trust  the  execution  of 


240  KINCAID,  THE  HKRO  MISSIONARY. 

his  cherished  plans  to  those  who  should  come  after 
him  to  gather  the  bounteous  harvests  ripening  to 
the  gleaner's  hand. 


CHAPTER  XXII. 

NEGLECTED  PROME — A  PROMISING  FIELD. 

"Declare  ye  among  the  nations,  and  publish,  and  set 
up  a  standard;  publish  and  conceal  not." — yereiniah  i,2. 

How  dark  the  days  stretched  into  years, 

Where  Jesus  was  not  known; 
How  warm  with  love  the  prayers  and  tears 

Poured  on  the  word  there  sown. 
Before  that  waste  and  barren  field 

Sighed  for  the  reaper's  hand, 
To  garner  for  God  the  gracious  yield 

Ripening  in  all  the  land; 
And  waiting  the  gleaner's  work  of  love 

To  place  the  sheaves  in  store, 
For  transit  up  to  the  world  above. 

Secure  forever  and  ever  more. 

Prome,  a  city  of  fifty  thousand  inhabitants,  mid- 
way between  Rangoon  and  Ava,  in  1853  gave 
promise  of  a  most  fruitful  center  from  which  to 
disseminate  the  gospel.  Dr.  Judson  had  preached 
there  in  1830  for  a  short  time,  with  bright  pros- 
pects of  success,  but,  after  a  few  months  stay,  was 
ordered  away,  after  which  time  but  little  efifort  had 
been  made  to  establish  gospel  missions  in  Prome. 

Dr.    Kincaid  made  this  long-neglected  city  his 


242  KINCAID,  THE  HERO  MISSIONARY. 

home  and  laid  plans  in  strong  faith  for  its  evangel- 
ization. He  was  kindly  assisted  by  the  Quarter- 
master General  of  the  army  in  obtaining  two 
monasteries,  with  a  zayat  convenient  for  public 
service,  where  on  January  22nd,  1853,  was  held 
the  first  public  religious  service. 

A  convert  whom  Dr.  Kincaid  had  baptized  ten 
years  before  in  Arracan,  was  already  holding 
nightly  meetings  in  his  own  home;  and,  being 
assistant  commissioner  at  Prome,  enjoyed  a  posi- 
tion that  gave  him  influence  and  the  opportunity 
of  doing  much  good  for  his  countrymen. 

Dr.  Kincaid  soon  began  holding  services  in  a 
chapel  near  the  center  of  the  city,  where  from  one 
hundred  to  one  hundred  and  fifty  attentive  hearers 
assembled,  besides  comers  and  goers  to  near  an 
equal  number.  At  the  close  of  morning  service, 
many  would  stay  for  an  after  meeting,  in  which 
the  native  disciples  would  gather  into  groups  of 
five  or  ten  persons,  and  in  a  conversational  way  lay 
before  their  hearers  the  claims  of  the  gospel,  and 
the  advantages  of  a  Christian  '  life.  These  meet- 
ings were  often  of  the  deepest  interest,  sometimes 
lasting  for  hours,  and  the  Bible  was  frequently 
appealed  to  in  settling  questions  when   different 


WHITENING  HARVESTS.  243 

views  were  held.  This  revealed  the  fact,  first, 
that  the  people  were  inquiring,  and  secondly,  that 
the  Bible  was  coming  to  be  accepted  as  authori- 
tative. 

On  February  27th  three  converts  were  baptized 
as  the  first  fruits  of  the  gospel.  By  July  follow- 
ing the  number  had  increased  to  thirty-eight,  with 
inquirers  multiplying  on  every  hand.  Frequent 
excursions  were  made  i^to  the  adjacent  villages, 
sometimes  by  the  natives  only,  at  other  times  by 
the  missionaries,  who  were  encouraged  to  find  such 
readiness  on  the  part  of  the  people  to  accept  the 
gospel.  Forty  miles  below  Prome,  at  Keaugen,  a 
city  of  sixty  thousand  people,  multitudes  gave  ear 
to  the  gospel.  Buddhism  was  crumbling,  and  gos- 
pel churches  springing  up.  Two  Karen  and  two 
Burman  churches  had  now  been  planted,  with 
promise  of  a  fifth.  Eighty  converts  had  been 
admitted  to  baptism,  two  of  whom  came  from 
the  capital  to  learn  more  perfectly  the  way  of 
life.  The  church  at  Prome  had  grown  in  strength 
and  influence,  and  now  numbered  seventy  mem- 
bers. 

Innumerable  villages  covered  the  country,  which 
caught  the  infection,  and  natives  were  giving  them- 


244  KINCAID,  THE  HERO   MISSIONARY. 

selves  to  study  preparatory  to  preaching  the  gospel 
and  aiding  the  missionaries  to  gather  the  whitening 
harvest  from  the  constantly  ripening  field. 

The  prayer  and  hope  of  the  missionaries  now 
were  that  the  Ivord  would  raise  up  laborers  to  reap 
the  harvest  of  souls  ripening  to  the  gleaner's  hand. 

Dr.  Kincaid  was  much  encouraged  by  the  large 
proportion  of  gifted  converts  coming  to  Jesus. 
Public  meetings  by  the  natives  were  now  frequent, 
and  often  crowded  until  many  were  turned  away 
for  lack  of  room.  The  Macedonian  cry  came  ring- 
ing from  every  quarter  until  Dr.  Kincaid  said:  "I 
feel  oppressed  beyond  utterance  when  I  look  over 
this  wide  field  and  see  what  is  to  be  done.  It  is 
important  that  we  employ  all  the  sanctified  talent 
within  our  reach  for  evangelizing  these  cities  and 
villages."  For  years  he  had  longed  and  prayed 
for  the  very  things  that  now  overwhelmed  him. 
What  he  most  desired  to  see  became  a  burden  too 
great  for  human  strength,  and  his  longing  now  was 
for  reapers  and  gleaners.  For  months  his  journals 
show^  no  abatement  of  interest,  but  a  continuance 
of  the  work  of  grace,  so  that  many  converts  were 
baptized.  In  this  year  the  first  Chun  convert  was 
baptized.     The  Chuns  were  a  branch  of  the  great 


WHITENING  HARVESTS.  245 

Karen  family,  and  occupied  the  Yuma  Mountains 
for  hundreds  of  miles. 

Of  the  Karen  field  Dr.  Kincaid  said  it  was  large 
to  the  south-east  and  to  the  north-east  and  the 
spirit  of  inquiry  increasing.  They  had  baptized 
more  than  forty  Karen  converts  and  had  eight  in 
training  for  teachers  and  two  for  assistants.  But 
this  must  prove  an  inadequate  number  for  the 
rapidly  widening  field  everywhere  demanding  the 
reaper's  toil  and  the  husbandman's  care. 

Karen  chiefs  were  making  frequent  personal 
calls  for  teachers  to  instruct  the  people  in  the 
truths  that  make  wise  unto  salvation.  They  were 
not  blind  to  the  improved  condition  of  those 
whose  God  was  the  Lord.  This  sanction  of  the 
chiefs  made  the  masses  free  and  anxious  to  prose- 
cute their  inquiries,  so  that  Dr.  Kincaid  said  that 
in  every  direction  the  influence  of  the  gospel  was 
spreading  and  converts  were  multiplied  in  all  the 
adjacent  towns  and  villages. 

While  all  these  encouraging  features  gave  such 
promise  of  success  among  the  Karens,  there  was  a 
very  encouraging  feature  in  the  work  at  Prome 
because  of  the  number  of  Burman  converts  who 
were  not   only   acknowledging   Christ,    but   were 


246  KINCAID,  THE  HERO  MISSIONARY. 

faithfully  living  for  his  cause  and  truth.  They,  as 
a  rule,  were  much  slower  to  accept  salvation  than 
the  Karens  but  of  the  one  hundred  and  sixty-one 
converts  baptized  by  the  end  of  the  year,  more 
than  one  hundred  were  Burmans. 

Another  encouraging  feature  of  the  work  at 
Prome  was  the  large  proportion  of  gifted  men  and 
women  converted.  Every  evening  one  and  often 
two  public  meetings  were  held  in  the  city,  gener- 
ally conducted  by  Ko  Dway  and  Moung  Pan-te. 
Often  these  gatherings  were  so  crowded  that  many 
were  turned  away  for  want  of  room.  Other 
natives  were  constantly  going  from  village  to 
village  and  city  to  city  preaching  the  gospel  of 
Jesus. 

A  large  part  of  Dr.  Kincaid's  work  now  was 
superintending  and  guiding  the  native  toilers  in 
their  labors,  so  blessed  of  heaven  on  every  hand. 
In  a  letter,  bearing  date  October  3,  1889,  from  one 
whose  father  was  also  a  missionary  on  the  same 
field,  it  is  said,  "His  time  was  spent  in  traveling 
from  town  to  town  and  from  village  to  village, 
preaching  to  Burmans,  Karens,  Shyens,  Shans, 
wherever  he  could  find  an  audience,  whether  of 
one  or  one  hundred,  he  gave  them  the  gospel." 


WHITENING  HARVESTS.  247 

"He  was  a  splendid  horseman,  and  invariably 
rode  at  a  'break-neck'  pace.  When  about  to  start 
off  in  the  rain,  he  would  refuse  the  offer  of  an 
umbrella,  saying.  Til  ride  between  the  drops,' 
and  it  looked  as  though  he  did." 

He  was  a  very  active  man,  whose  zeal  for  souls 
was  very  ardent  to  the  last,  and  only  permitted  his 
retirement  from  active  service  when  frail  nature 
had  given  way  under  the  weight  of  years  of  toil. 
His  soul  was  delighted  to  hear  of  prosperity  in  the 
cause  of  Christ,  in  any  land,  with  any  people. 

He  never  had  trouble  with  the  Board  of  the  Mis- 
sionary Union,  but  manfully  stood  up  and  defended 
his  brethren  on  a  foreign  field  who  had  trouble. 
He  ever  did  what  he  believed  to  be  right  without 
fear  or  favor. 

How  reviving  when  we  hear 
Words  of  comfort,  words  of  cheer, 
How  the  gospel  wins  its  way, 
Turning  darkness  into  day. 
From  end  to  end  of  that  great  land, 
Where  high  Pagodas  thickly  stand, 
Jesus  now  is  sought  and  owned. 
While  dumb  idols  are  dethroned, 
See  Christ,  our  king,  in  Burma  stay, 
O'er  the  empire  gaining  sway. 
As  king  of  kings  where  He  is  known. 
The  people  love  His  name  to  own. 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 

IN  FAVOR  WITH  THE  KING. 

"Seest  thou  a  man  diligent  in  his  business,  he  shall 
stand  before  kings." — Prov.  xxii,  2g. 

He  did  his  work  with  all  his  might, 
Nor  ever  faltered  in  the  right; 
This  only  question  would  he  ask, 
"Is  this  thing  right?"     Then  at  his  task 
And  toil,  with  purpose  strong  and  true, 
'Till  done  the  work  God  bade  him  do,  . 

Various  circumstances  combined  to  hinder  Dr. 
Kincaid  from  returning  to  Ava,  his  chosen  field, 
and  the  one  to  which  he  had  been  specially  desig- 
nated. He  was  not  permitted  to  pass  by  the  fertile 
soil  of  Rangoon  and  Prome  without  sowing  the 
seed  that  soon  ripened  into  harvests  of  native  con- 
verts and  workers  for  Jesus.  Almost  a  generation 
had  passed  since  the  first  seeds  of  gospel  truth  had 
been  sown  at  Prome  by  Dr.  Judson,  and  the  cruel 
spirit  that  had  driven  him  away,  had  been  lost  in 
a  desire  for  knowledge  of  the  Eternal  God. 

And  providence  held  Dr.  Kincaid  and  the  physi- 
cian designated  for  the  capital  until  many  churches 


ROYAL  FAVOR.  249 

were  planted,  and  the  trainer  and  gleaner  stood 
shonlder  to  shoulder  with  the  sower  over  the  conn- 
try  from  Rangoon  and  below  almost  to  the  capital. 

In  September,  1855,  a  messenger  from  the  king 
waited  on  Dr.  Kincaid  to  learn  when  he  would 
visit  the  Royal  Citv. 

Encouraged  by  an  offer  from  the  court,  now  at 
Ummerapoora,  a  few  miles  up  the  river  from  Ava, 
to  send  men  and  boats  for  the  voyage,  and  furnish 
the  missionary  with  a  house,  it  was  decided  .to  visit 
the  capital  early  in  1856,  while  an  opportunity  was 
afforded  of  meeting  the  Chinese  and  Shan  caravans 
to  be  at  the  capital  in  the  early  spring  of  that  year. 
This  would  afford  them  the  opportunity  of  sending 
Bibles  and  tracts  into  many  parts  of  the  dark  lands 
of  heathenism,  where  the  name  of  Jesus  had  never 
been  heard. 

They  reached  Ummerapoora  April  nth,  having 
presented  the  word  by  the  wayside  in  numerous 
villages,  to  willing  hearers. 

Ummerapoora  then  contained  a  population  of 
three  hundred  thousand  souls.  It  was  noted  for 
its  broad,  clean  and  beautiful  streets,  and  was 
justly  regarded  as  one  of  the  finest  cities  of  the 
Burman  empire. 

17 


250  KINCAID,  THE  HERO  MISSIONARY. 

To  the  north  of  the  city  was  a  beautiful  lake, 
and  inviting  groves  of  cocoanut,  tamarind,  mango 
and  other  trees  that  vied  with  each  other  in  their 
efforts  to  lend  beauty  to  the  scene. 

Among  the  first  things  done  after  landing  was 
to  send  Ko  En  and  Moung-paw-te,  his  two  native 
helpers,  in  search  of  members  of  the  little  church 
formerly  at  Ava. 

The  first  day  they  found  Ko  Shway-nee,  whose 
joy  was  inexpressible  on  learning  of  the  arrival  of 
his  old  teacher  and  that  they  might  look  on  each 
other's  faces  again.  Dr.  Kincaid  was  equally  joy- 
ous to  know  that  through  all  the  trials,  sufferings 
and  reproaches  of  seventeen  years  faith  had  not 
left  him  utterly,  though  alone  and  exposed  to  many 
a  bitter  blast  of  persecution.  Despite  the  scorn 
and  contempt  of  the  world  he  had  fought  the  good 
fight  and  kept  the  faith.  Tears  of  joy  rolled  down 
their  furrowed  cheeks  as  they  met  after  so  many 
eventful  years. 

He  had  the  good  news  for  his  former  teacher 
that  his  wife's  brother  had  accepted  Christ  and 
desired  to  accompany  them  to  Prome  and  receive 
the  rite  of  baptism. 

Jesuit  priests  and  some  of  the  officials  attempted 


ROYAL  FAVOR.  25 1 

to  awaken  prejudice  against  the  missionaries  in  the 
mind  of  the  king. 

But  they  were  unsuccessful  and  the  missionaries 
were  received  at  the  palace  with  marks  of  distinc- 
tion. 

Mr.  Dawson,  the  physician,  says:  "To  describe 
the  magnificent  establishment  would  require  too 
much  time  and  space;  suffice  it  to  say,  it  was  built 
mainly  of  teak  wood,  laquered,  carved  and  gilded 
so  as  to  give  it  an  exceedingly  imposing  appear- 
ance." Over  the  throne  was  a  gorgeous  and  at- 
tractive spire,  probably  two  hundred  feet  high. 
"Next  to  the  main  building  was  the  treasury,  con- 
taining the  crown  jewels ;  back  of  this  was  the 
garden.  On  one  side  the  royal  tower  stood,  and 
at  its  base  stood  the  palace  of  the  ' '  white  elephant. ' ' 
Within  the  same  enclosure  was  the  king's  court. 
Here  sat  the  Woon-gees,  or  ministers  of  state,  ad- 
ministering laws  that  affected  the  whole  kingdom. 
The  missionaries  interviewed  two  At-woon-wees, 
or  privy  councillors,  to  whose  private  office  they 
were  led  by  the  collector  of  government  customs. 
They  were  kindly  received,  and  asked  the  nature 
of  their  business  with  the  king. 

Dr.  Kincaid  told  them  he  had  lived  in  Ava  dur- 


252  KINCAID,   THE  HERO  MISSIONARY. 

ing  the  reign  of  Noung-dau-pra,  and  had  left  the 
capital  soon  after  the  ascension  to  the  throne  of 
Thur-ra-wa-di.  ' '  We  now  come  to  pay  our  respects 
to  his  majesty,"  and  to  learn  whether  we  may  abide 
near  the  'golden  feet.' 

Other  inquiries  followed,  as  to  the  profession  of 
medicine,  the  diseases  subject  to  the  physician's 
skill ;  and,  being  pleased,  they  went  to  see  if  the 
king  was  at  leisure.  They  remained  for  a  little 
while,  and  were  then  called  by  the  collector  of 
customs,  and  told  that  the  king  was  not  engaged. 

Leaving  their  shoes  at  the  foot  of  the  stairway, 
they  walked  up,  and  were  at  once  in  the  presence 
of  his  royal  highness,  the  king  of  Burma.  His 
age  was  forty-one ;  his  height  five  feet  and  seven 
inches.  He  had  a  well-developed  head  and  noble 
brow,  of  pleasing  countenance,  thoughtful  mind, 
and  cheerful  temper,  with  benevolent  heart.  He 
was  well  but  not  lavishly  dressed.  Both  his  features 
and  complexion  were  of  the  ordinary  Burman  type. 

"Seating  ourselves,"  says  Dr.  Kincaid,  "on  the 
mats,  as  did  everybody  except  his  majesty,  and 
throwing  our  feet  back  into  a  most  awkward  and 
painful  posture,  with  our  hands  upraised,  we  made 


ROYAL  FAVOR.  253 

our  bow  in  the  usual  fashion  observed  at  this  court. 
The  king  nodded  his  recognition. 

About  thirty  persons  were  present,  who  sat  in  a 
semi-circle,  and  four  sword-bearers,  with  their 
swords  before   them. 

''The  monarch  was  seated  on  a  crimson  velvet 
carpet,  fringed  with  silk,  and  spread  out  on  an 
elevated  floor  of  the  adjoining  but  open  apartment. " 
A  bolster  reposed  against  one  of  the  gilded  posts 
of  the  room,  against  which  the  king  reclined,  as  he 
saw  fit. 

They  were  formally  introduced  as  American 
sayahs   (teachers)   by  the  privy  councillors. 

The  king  at  once  inquired  the  object  of  the  mis- 
sionaries in  coming  to  the  capital.  With  some 
caution  and  solicitude  about  the  results  that  might 
follow,  they  informed  the  king  that  one  object,  was  to 
present  their  respects  to  his  majesty,  and  another 
was  to  procure  from  him  the  privilege  of  making 
the  capital  the  home  of  themselves  and  their  fami- 
lies. The  king  then  wanted  to  know  what  the 
missionaries  proposed  to  do,  and  learned  it  was 
the  purpose  of  Drs.  Kincaid  and  Dawson  to  open  a 
school  for  children  and  medical  dispensary  for  the 
sick  and  suffering. 


254  KINCAID,  THE  HERO  MISSIONARY. 

The  king  now  inquired  the  distance  between 
Burma  and  America,  and  the  time  required  by  sail 
vessels  or  steamers  to  make  the  trip  from  one  to 
the  other,  and  after  much  inquiry  about  the  gov- 
ernment in  America — her  relations  to  France,  to 
England,  and  the  results  of  the  two  wars  between 
England  and  the  United  States,  he  asked:  "Have 
you  a  king  in  America?' '  When  informed  that  the 
United  States  government  was  a  republic,  in  which 
all  the  officers  were  chosen  by  the  people,  the  pres- 
ident or  chief  magistrate  being  elected  every  four 
years,  he  shook  his  head  and  said  it  was  an  unwise 
arrangement.  And  after  some  further  inquiry  as 
to  whether  locating  at  his  capital  would  affect  their 
relations  with  their  own  government,  he  again 
inquired  the  object  of  their  visit  to  Ummerapoora, 
"intimating  somewhat  pleasantly  that  merchants 
wished  to  acquire  property  and  riches,  scientific 
travelers  passed  through  to  observe  the  formation 
and  curiosities  of  the  country,  while  the  object  of 
others  was  not  quite  so  clear  or  creditable. 

"This  was  the  hardest  remark  made,"  and  the 
missionaries  were  quick  to  give  credit  for  it  to  the 
wily  Jesuit,  and  repeated  their  purpose  to  start  a 
school  and  dispensary.     When  the  king  interposed, 


ROYAL  FAVOR.  355 

"  Burman  children  do  not  want  to  study  Bnglish," 
the  reply  of  Dr.  Kincaid  was:  "We  do  not  purpose 
teaching  the  Burman  children  the  English  lan- 
guage," but  observed  that  they  ought  to  be  taught 
knowledge. 

His  majesty  now  wanted  to  know  when  they 
could  come,  and  began  to  inquire  about  commerce, 
and  expressed  his  desire  to  encourage  trade  as 
much  as  possible. 

He  requested  the  missionaries  to  write  to  the 
newspapers  of  America  of  his  purpose  to  promote 
trade,  and  wished  American  merchants  to  settle  in 
his  empire,  and  improve  the  opportunities  of  grow- 
ing rich. 

He  was  grand  nephew  to  Mekara  prince,  the 
most  celebrated  scholar  and  learned  man  in  the 
Burman  empire. 

After  a  two  hours'  conference  the  king  arose, 
and  throwing  his  arms  across  his  breast,  and  look- 
ing toward  Drs.  Kincaid  and  Dawson  said:  "If  you 
have  feelings  of  regard  for  me — in  short,  if  you 
love  me,  come  soo7t^  come  soon^  and  I  will  pay  all 
your  expenses."  He  then  retired  to  his  private 
chamber,  and  sent  a-^lad  for  the  books  just  pre- 
sented him  by  the  missionaries. 


256  KINCAID,  THK  HERO  MISSIONARY. 

After  a  short  stay  at  the  capital,  the  missionaries 
returned  to  Prome  and  Rangoon,  with  the  king's 
permission  to  abide  at  the  capital,  and  greatly 
encouraged  with  the  outlook  for  establishing  a 
mission  in  the  capital  as  soon  as  others  could  come 
from  America  to  occupy  the  fields  they  must  leave 
to  take  up  the  work  at  the  capital. 

In  January,  1856,  another  visit  was  made  to  the 
Royal  City  by  the  missionaries  and  their  families, 
who  were  most  kindly  received,  and  urged  to  take 
up  their  abode  in  the  Royal  City.  They  found  the 
king's  brother  anxious  to  commit  to  the  care  of 
Dr.  Kincaid  ten  or  a  dozen  young  men  selected 
from  the  first  families,  to  be  taken  to  America  for 
education  in  the  higher  branches  of  mechanical 
science,  but  it  was  decided  best  to  substitute  a 
literary  course  at  the  "Dareton  College,"  Calcutta. 

''While  such  thoughts  engaged  his  royal  high- 
ness, the  king's  mind  was  occupied  with  the  project 
of  an  embassy  to  the  United  States.  To  this  ser- 
vice Dr.  Kincaid  was  chosen,  and,  after  some 
hesitation,  accepted  the  appointment  of  the  king, 
and  hastened  to  prepare  for  a  speedy  trip  to  the 
home  of  his  youth. 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 

SERVING  THE  KING. 

I  rose  up  and  did  the  King's  business. — Dan.  viii.  2^. 

Accepting  the  appointment  of  the  king  of  Bur- 
ma, Dr.  Kincaid  was  given  charge  of  the  royal 
letter  that  should  make  known  to  the  government 
of  the  United  States  at  Washington,  the  wishes  of 
the  king. 

This  appointment  was  more  willingly  accepted 
because  Mrs.  Kincaid's  health  demanded  a  change 
of  climate.  But  for  this  fact.  Dr.  Kincaid  would 
scarcely  have  left  his  mission  work  for  a  day  to  go 
on  business  for  an  earthly  king. 

No  time  was  lost  in  preparing  and  starting  on 
the  journey,  that  seemed  to  give  hope  of  a  recovery 
of  Mrs.  Kincaid's  health. 

Shortly  after  his  arrival  in  America,  he  proceeded 
to  Washington,  and,  without  delay,  delivered  the 
royal  letter,  sealed  with  the  king's  seal,  and  inclosed 
in  a  elegant  ivory  box,  lined  with  crimson  velvet. 


258  KINCAID,  THE  HERO  MISSIONARY. 

The   following  is   the   literal  translation  of  the 
royal  letter : 

''His  majesty,  whose  glory  is  like  the  rising  sun, 
ruling  over  the  kingdoms  of  Tho-na-pa-yon-te, 
Yon-pa-de-pa,  and  all  the  eastern  principalities, 
whose  chiefs  walk  under  golden  umbrellas,  lord  of 
Sadden,  the  king  of  elephants,  and  lord  of  many 
white  elephants,  whose  descent  is  from  the  royal 
race  of  Alompra ;  also  the  great  lords  and  officers 
of  state,  ever  bowing  before  his  majesty  as  water 
lilies  around  the  throne,  to  direct  and  superintend 
the  affairs  of  the  empire,  send  salutations  to  the 
President  and  great  officers  of  State  residing  in  the 
City  of  Washington,  and  ruling  over  many  great 
countries  in  the  continent  of  America. 

His  majesty,  whose  shadow,  like  that  of  the  royal 
race,  falls  over  the  entire  kingdom,  desires  to  gov- 
ern so  as  to  promote  wise  and  useful  regulations, 
such  as  the  greatest  of  rulers  has  ever  made  it  his 
study  to  accomplish. 

His  majesty  is  aware  that  it  has  always  been  the 
custom  of  great  rulers  to  be  on  terms  of  friendship 
with  other  nations,  and  to  pursue  measures  tending 
to  perpetuate  amity. 

As  the  American  teacher.  Rev.  E.  Kincaid,  has 


SERVING  THE  KING. 


259 


come  to  the  royal  city,  without  hindrance,  and  he 
has  permission  to  come  to  the  royal  city  without 
hindrance,  and  he  has  permission  to  go  in  and  out 
of  the  royal  palace  when  he  pleases,  and  has  per- 
mission to  look  on  the  royal  countenance,  he  will 
be  able  to  address  the  Presiden-t  of  the  United 
States  on.  all  subjects  pertaining  to  the  government 
and  kingdom  of  Burma.  Should  this  royal  king- 
dom and  the  great  country  of  America  form  a 
friendly  intercourse,  there  is  on  our  part  a  desire 
that  the  two  great  countries,  through  all  coming 
generations,  may  cultivate  friendly  relations,  and 
that  the  merchants  and  common  people,  and  all 
classes,  may  be  greatly  benefited.  For  this  purpose 
this  royal  letter  is  committed  to  Dr.  Kincaid. 

Should  he  be  charged  with  a  letter  from  the 
President  and  great  officers  of  state,  to  bring  to  the 
royal  city  of  Ava,  for  his  majesty  and  the  court, 
and  should  the  President  and  great  officers  say,  Let 
the  two  countries  be  on  terms  of  friendship,  and 
that  our  children  and  grandchildren,  and  all  merch- 
ants and  the  common  people,  may,  through  all 
generations,  reap  great  advantage — should  such 
a  message  come,  it  will  be  heard  with  great 
pleasure. ' ' 


26o  KINCAID,  THE  HERO  MISSIONARY. 

The  duties  of  Dr.  Kincaid  as  ambassador  were 
soon  and  easily  accomplished,  and  when  he  had 
accomplished  a  much  more  difficult  task,  of  which 
we  will  speak  further  on,  he  received  from  the 
President  the  following  reply  to  the  royal  letter 
brought  from  the  king  of  Burma : 

James  Buchanan,  President  of  the  United  States, 

of  America, 
To  His  Majesty,  the  King  of  Ava,  whose  glory  is 
like  the  rising  sun,  ruling  over  the  kingdoms  of 
Thu-na-pa-yonte,  Ton-pa-de-pa,  and  all  the 
Eastern  principalities,  whose  chiefs  walk  under 
golden  umbrellas;  Lord  of  Sadden,  the  King  of 
Elephants,  and  Lord  of  many  White  Elephants, 
whose  descent  is  from  the  royal  race  of  Alom- 
pra;  Greeting: 

''I  have  received  from  the  Rev.  Eugenio  Kin- 
caid the  letter  which  he  informs  me  your  majesty 
delivered  to  him  in  April,  1856,  of  the  Christian 
era.  It  has  been  a  gratification  to  me  to  learn 
from  that  communication  that  so  worthy  a  citizen 
of  the  United  States  as  Dr.  Kincaid  has  had  free 
access  to  your  majesty.  It  would  be  a  further 
gratification  if  others  of  my  countrymen  who 
might  resort  to  your  majesty's  dominions  as  mer- 
chants or  as  travelers   might  also  be   hospitably 


SERVING  THE  KING.  261 

received.  Your  majesty  may  be  assured  that  the 
subjects  of  Burma  who  may  visit  this  country  shall 
be  received  in  the  same  manner. 

We  heartily  reciprocate  your  majesty's  wish  for 
the  cultivation  of  friendly  relations  between  the 
two  countries,  and  as  we  have  no  interest,  the  pro- 
motion of  which,  so  far  as  can  be  foreseen,  would 
render  it  necessary  to  desire  that  your  majesty's 
sovereignty  should  be  diminished,  or  in  any  way 
put  in  jeopardy,  we  trust  that  peace  and  good  will 
may  be  perpetual  between  us. 

This  letter  will  be  delivered  to  you  by  Dr.  Kin- 
caid,  whom  I  have  authorized  to  make  known  to 
your  majesty  orally,  also,  the  amicable  sentiments 
of  the  government  and  people  of  the  United  States 
towards  your  majesty  and  your  majesty's  subjects. 

And  so  I  pray  the  Almighty  to  have  your  majesty 
in  His  safe  and  holy  keeping. 

Written  at  Washington  this  19th  day  of  May, 
Anno  Domini,  1857. 

James  Buchanan, 

By  the  President. 

IvEWis  Cass,  Secretary  of  State. 

The  more  difficult  undertaking  of  Dr.  Kincaid 
on  this  visit  was  the  adjustment  of  difficulties 
existing  between  the  executive  committee  at  Bos- 
ton and  a  large  number  of  the  missionaries. 


262  KINCAID,  THE  HERO  MISSIONARY. 

"These  difficulties  had  now  become  so  involved 
as  to  require  a  full  and  clear  statement  of  all  the 
facts,  in  order  that  the  integrity  and  honor  of 
brethren  in  the  foreign  field  might  be  vindicated. 
As  one  of  their  number,  bound  to  each  by  strong 
fraternal  ties,  and  familiar  with  all  the  points 
involved  in  the  several  cases.  Dr.  Kincaid  came 
forward  and  stood  nobly  for  their  defense. 

"In  his  earnest  vindication,  as  published  in 
The  Americmi  Baptist  and  Christian  Chronicle^ 
may  be  found  the  principles  for  which  Dr.  Kincaid 
contended,  as  well  as  the  motives  which  prompted 
him  to  take  so  conspicuous  a  part  in  this  perplex- 
ing controversy." 

"The  views  set  forth  in  his  vindication  were  not 
reached  in  haste,  nor  advanced  in  a  retaliative 
spirit  of  controversy, ' '  but  from  a  sense  of  duty  to 
both  parties,  and  for  the  good  of  the  Master  in 
bringing  about  a  better  understanding. 

"From  the  beginning  of  his  missionary  life  he 
had  boldly  contended,  with  all  his  prominent  asso- 
ciates, that  the  relationship  existing  between  God's 
ambassadors  who  are  sent  to  the  foreign  field  and 
the  religious  organization  through  which  they 
derive  their  support,  is  not  that  of  principal  and 


SERVING  THE  KING.  263 

ageiit^  employers  and  employed^  but  strictly  one  of 
^brotherly  equality ^^  a  relationship  requiring  them 
to  look  upon  each  other  as  fellow  laborers  in  the 
gospel. 

Hence,  when  the  claim  was  officially  put  forth 
that  "  The  authority  of  the'  Board  is  absolute ^''^ 
and  when  that  authority,  through  the  executive 
committee,  issued  instructions  demanding  ^^acqtii- 
escence^^^  under  the  claim  of  an  'absolute'  power, 
a  power  never  conceded  by  the  missionaries,  and 
which  they  could  not  comply  with,  except  at  the 
costly  sacrifice  of  their  individual  responsibility. 
Dr.  Kincaid  felt  himself  bound  to  protest  against 
such  usurped  authority,  claiming  for  himself  and 
for  his  brethren  the  right  of  ^ reciprocal  direction,^ 
and  contending  that  no  change  should  be  made 
by  either  party  without   ^ the  consent  of  the  other.^ 

In  advocating  this  principle,  Dr.  Kincaid  was 
led  to  speak  of  particular  instances  in  which  he 
believed  it  had  been  openly  violated.  He  referred 
particularly  to  the  case  of  Mr.  Vinton,  who  was 
regarded  as  refractory,  in  having  without  author- 
ity removed  from  Maulmain  to  Rangoon.  Dr.  Kin- 
caid, after  fully  explaining  the  circumstances  that 
led  to  that  important  change,  concludes  by  saying, 


264  KINCAID,  THE  HERO  MISSIONARY. 

"Did  Mr.  Vinton  go  to  Rangoon  on  his  own 
responsibility?  One  thousand  Karen  Christians 
called  him  to  ' come  over  and  help  them.'  Human- 
ity with  imploring  voice  called  him;  above  all,  the 
Providence  of  God,  in  clear  and  distinct  language, 
called  him  to  the  work.  Dare  he  sit  still,  and  say 
to  these  suffering  Karens,  and  to  weeping  human- 
ity, and  above  all,  to  the  Providence  of  God, 
"Let  me  first  go  and  obtain  permission  from  those 
who  claim  dictatorial  power  over  me."  Dare  he 
so  insult  the  Providence  of  God,  and  mock  the 
entreaties  of  God's  suffering  people?  Should  he 
say,  'I  am  a  hireling^''  and  look  not  after  the  torn 
and  scattered  flock?  Did  Mr.  Vinton  go  to  Ran- 
goon, on  his  own  responsibility?  Shame,  shame 
on  such  gross  and  fabulous  statements. 

Never,  since  the  day  Paul  was  called  into 
Macedonia,  has  there  been  a  clearer  case  of  duty 
to  go  in  the  name  of  Christ.  Had  it  been  my  case, 
under  similar  circumstances,  no  opposition  on  the 
part  of  man  would  have  been  regarded  as  of  the 
slightest  moment.  I  should  have  brushed  them  as 
cobwebs  from  my  path.  What  power  is  that  which 
thrusts  itself  between  the  ambassador  of  Christ  in 
a  heathen  land,  and  the  God  of  missions?     What 


SERVING  THE  KING.  265 

power  is  that  which  claims  to  keep  the  consciences 
of  men  who  are  planting  churches  on  heathen 
shores? 

To  the  exercise  of  this  power,  claiming  the  right 
to  give  direction,  but  resisted  by  several  devoted 
and  successful  missionaries,  Dr.  Kincaid  ascribed 
all  the  difficulty  which  had  for  years  hindered 
missionary  operations. 

It  was  this,  he  said,  that  had  subjected  them  to 
the  grave  charge  of  "disregarding  regulations," 
and  "setting  at  naught  instructions;"  and,  im- 
pressed with  the  danger  and  evil  consequent  upon 
such  an  assumption  of  power,  he  said:  The  cry  of  'in- 
subordination,' 'disregard  of  regulations,'  'setting 
at  naught  instructions,'  was  the  cry  of  desperation. 
Oppression  caused  a  revolt,  not  against  regulations, 
but  against  outrage  and  wrong.  "Regulations 
were  never  knozvingly  disregarded.  Oppression 
arouses,  in  self-defense,  all  but  slaves."  Then,  he 
added,  'Let  any  man  or  set  of  men  be  armed  with 
dictatorial  power,  and  there  may  be  the  exhibition 
of  a  strong  government,  to  carry  any  measure, 
however  unwise;  to  silence  every  murmur,  however 
reasonable;  and  to  crush  all  opposition,  however 
just,  as  Louis  Napoleon  put  France  under  his  feet. 

18 


266  KINCAID,  THE  HERO  MISSIONARY. 

Let  ever}'  subject  of  importance  be  thoroughly 
ventilated  and  sifted.  Let  discussion,  untrammeled 
by  threats,  be  invited.  Let  all  the  aids  of  testi- 
mony, and  the  lights  of  experience  and  history,  be 
invoked.  Let  opinion  grapple  with  opinion.  This 
will  be  the  most  precious  guaranty  for  the  avoid- 
ance of  evil,  the  security  of  sacred  rights,  and  the 
preservation  of  truth.  If  infallibility  is  ascribed 
to  one  set  of  men,  in  such  a  sense  as  to  require  all 
their  official  acts  to  be  sanctioned  without  exami- 
nation, then  a  principle  has  been  adopted  abhorrent 
to  protestant  Christianity." 

"The  fearless  avowal  of  sentiments  like  these 
had  the  effect  to  awaken,  in  some  quarters,  no  little 
opposition,  and  not  a  few  were  disposed  to  regard 
their  utterance  a  crime  worthy  to  be  treated  as 
ecclesiastical  treason." 

But  neither  fear  nor  favor  influenced  him  for  a 
moment,  to  withhold  the  declaration  of  his  honest 
convictions ;  and,  with  the  same  manliness  which 
marked  his  whole  life,  he  hesitated  not  to  speak 
what  he  believed  to  be  the  truth,  and  shunned  not 
the  responsibility  assumed  in  resisting  what  he  felt 
to  be  an  encroachment  on  the  Christian  liberty  of 
himself  and  his  missionary  brethren. 


SERVING  THE  KING.  267 

x^s  on  his  two  former  visits  to  America,  Dr.  Kin- 
caid's  earnest  addresses  were  everywhere  heard  with 
the  deepest  interest,  and  his  moving  appeals  in  be- 
half of  the  perishing  heathen  never  failed  to  meet 
with  a  cheerful  and  liberal  response. 

But,  in  addition  to  the  service  rendered  to  the 
general  cause  of  missions,  he  was  successful, 
through  the  voluntary  contributions  made  at  the 
close  of  his  last  public  efforts  in  Philadelphia  and 
New  York,  in  raising  a  fund  of  about  a  thousand 
dollars,  which  was  judiciously  expended  in  the 
purchase  of  a  large  assortment  of  educational 
works,  and  also  of  a  number  of  astronomical  in- 
struments for  use  in  the  Karen  schools  at  Rangoon. 


CHAPTER  XXV. 

LAST  YEARS  IN  BURMA. 

Dr.  Kincaid,  leaving  his'  family  behind  at  New 
York,  embarked  for  Glasgow,  arriving  there  after 
a  pleasant  voyage  of  fifteen  days.  Visited  and 
preached  for  a  few  weeks  in  Scotland  and  England, 
then  taking  the  overland  or  mail  route  to  Calcutta, 
he  landed  December  5th,  after  a  pleasant  and 
most  interesting  voyage;  and  early  in  January, 
1858,  located  in  Prome,  where  he  was  joined  in 
due  time  by  his  family,  and  began  those  mission- 
ary labors  that  employed  him  during  his  last 
stay  in  Burma.  His  time  was  spent  mainly  at 
Prome  and  in  the  country  adjacent,  and  going  from 
village  to  village  and  town  to  town,  strengthening 
the  brethren  and  encouraging  them  to  reach  out 
and  extend  their  efforts  to  the  regions  beyond. 

i\mong  the  facts  connected  with  his  closing 
years  of  mission  work  at  Prome,  one  who  was  on 
the  field  during  this  period  furnishes  the  following: 

"I  know  that  after  he  went  to  Prome,  his  time 


LAST  YEARS  IN  BURMA.  269 

was  Spent  in  traveling  from  town  to  town,  preach- 
ing to  Burnians,  Karens,  Shyens,  Shans.  Wherever 
he  conld  find  an  audience,  whether  of  one  or  one 
hundred,  he  gave  them  the  gospel.  When  he 
found  a  people  whose  language  he  did  not  under- 
stand, he  was  -not  deterred  one  moment;  he  got 
an  interpreter  and  preached  Christ  to  them.  He 
had  none  of  the  narrow-mindedness  that  charac- 
terizes so  many  men,  and  makes  them  unable  to 
see  more  than  the  one  people  to  whom  they  may 
have  been  designated.  To  him  the  field  was  the 
world ;  and  he  was  sent  to  garner  souls,  no  matter 
of  what  name,  or  race,  or  language" — whether  at 
home  or  abroad.  He  was  just  as  glad  to  meet  a 
caravan  of  traders  coming  to  the  serpentine  amber 
mines  to  trade,  and  give  them  the  gospel,  as  to 
preach  to  his  people  in  the  church  at  home. 

"As  a  preacher  his  power  was  something  won- 
derful," says  one  who  often  heard  him  in  the  field. 
' '  I  doubt  if  ever  Burma  has  seen  a  greater.  Indeed, 
I  regard, him  as  one  of  the  greatest  men  that  the 
missionary  union  ever  sent  out."  "Others  have 
had  more  said  of  them  and  their  work,  but  no  one 
ever  did  more  true  and  lasting  service  for  the  cause 
of  missions." 


270  KINCAID,  THE  HERO    MISSIONARY. 

Another,  who  witnessed  some  of  his  devotions 
and  toils  on  the  field,  says  of  him:  "He  toiled 
while  others  took  their  ease;  his  excursions  into 
the  regions  beyond  were  not  infrequent.  These 
excursions  were  often  matters  of  great  self-denial 
and  hardship,  as  much  of  the  time  he  was  com- 
pelled to  lie  on  the  ground  without  bed  or  pillow. 
Oftentimes  his  saddle  served  the  purpose  of  pillow, 
while  the  blanket  that  went  under  the  saddle 
would  cover  a  portion  of  the  ground  on  which  he 
lay.  He  was  a  fine  horseman,  and  very  much 
enjoyed  a  good  ride,  and  never  feared  it  would 
injure  his  spirituality  to  ride  faster  than  a  jog  of  a 
trot.  He  cared  well  for  his  horse;  fed  well,  and 
rode  likewise. 

"No  one  would  entertain  a  company  at  table 
better  than  he,  and  while  talking  he  forgot  all 
about  eating. "  "One  day  on  the  English  ship 
Ticdor^  on  a  voyage  from  Cape  Town  to  Calcutta, 
in  1850,  some  of  the  officers  made  a  bet  that  they 
would  cheat  Dr.  Kincaid  out  of  his  dinner  and  he 
would  not  know  it.  As  soon  as  grace  was  said, 
some  one  started  him  on  some  of  his  experiences 
among  the  Dakoits  (robbers).  The  servants  had 
orders  to  remove  his  plate   at  the  end  of  every 


LAST  YEARS  IN  BURMA.  ^7! 

course,  whether  he  had  finished  or  not.  The  soup 
went  away  untouched,  and  so  did  the  fish,  and  so 
on  through  a  long  dinner  of  some  eight  or  ten 
courses,  and  by  a  judicious  word  thrown  in  now 
and  then,  when  he  showed  signs  of  attacking  what 
was  on  his  plate,  they  contrived  to  get  to  the  coffee 
without  his  having  tasted  a  mouthful.  As  he 
drained  the  little  cup  of  coffee,  some  one  said: 
^Mr.  Kincaid,  I'm  afraid  you  haven't  had  much 
dinner.'  'O,  yes,'  he  exclaimed,  'I  have  eaten 
plentifully,'  and  he  thought  he  had." 

In  1865,  broken  down  in  health,  he  took  final 
leave  of  the  scenes  of  his  missionary  life,  of  his 
brothers  and  sisters  in  church  relations,  won  from 
heathenism  by  the  power  of  the  word  preached, 
and  leave  of  the  school  where  his  companion  had 
been  daily  engaged  in  teaching  the  Burmese 
females. 

They  embarked  on  board  the  Verona^  a  sailing 
vessel,  enjoyed  a  pleasant  voyage,  visited  in  Eng- 
land and  Scotland,  and  reached  America  March 
17th,  1866.  The  family  visited  a  brother  Thomas 
in  New  York  city  for  a  time,  where  Dr.  Kincaid 
had  quite  a  serious  illness,  and  when  sufficiently 
recovered  to  do  so,  was  advised  to  go  to  the  moun- 


272 

tains,  that  with  care  he  might  possibly  live  a  year. 
He  located  at  Norristown,  Penn.,  and  during  his 
stay  of  nearly  three  years  in  that  place,  he 
traveled  through  many  of  the  states  kindling  mis- 
sionary zeal,  and  endeavoring  to  enlist  the  churches 
more  generally  in  missionary  enterprises.  About 
the  end  of  the  third  year,  Dr.  Kincaid  removed 
his  family  from  Norristown  to  1735  Park  Avenue, 
Philadelphia. 

In  1869  Dr.  Cowie,  Sanitary  Commissioner  Gen- 
eral of  British  India,  then  on  a  visit  to  Dr. 
Kincaid,  his  father-in-law,  advised  a  trip  to 
Kansas,  which  was  made  and  gave  such  encourage- 
ment to  Dr.  Kincaid  by  its  pure,  refreshing  breezes 
and  broad,  inviting  and  beautiful  prairies,  that 
it  was  decided  that  he  should  pass  his  last  days  in 
this  most  delightful  country. 

But  one  of  the  saddest  occasions  of  life  was  to 
be  met  before  this  plan  should  be  carried  into  exe- 
cution, namely:  the  death  of  their  daughter 
Mary — Mrs.  J.  S.  Ingraham.  This  occurred  in 
1 87 1.  The  same  year  Dr.  Kincaid  and  family 
located  just  a  few  miles  west  of  Girard  on  a  nice 
elevation  where  the  pure,  refreshing  breezes  added, 


LAST  YEARS  IN  BURMA.  273 

no  doubt,  many  years  of  pleasure  to  a  most 
eventful  and  worthy  life. 

They  at  once  identified  themselves  with  Girard 
Baptist  Church,  and  always  showed  a  deep  interest 
in  its  welfare  and  ready  hands  to  help  in  all  its 
work. 

When  I  began  preaching  for  this  church  in  the 
autumn  of  1877,  the  membership  numbered  about 
thirty,  with  a  debt  on  the  building  that  gave  us 
considerable  anxiety.  Once  while  making  an 
effort  to  raise  this  money  Dr.  Kincaid  said,  "I  have 
two  cows  and  am  willing  to  sell  one  of  them  that 
this  debt  shall  be  paid." 

And  I  am  persuaded  if  his  many  friends  east  and 
west  could  have  beheld  his  earnestness  of  manner, 
and  heard  with  what  tender  solicitude  he  talked  of 
a  Sabbath  home  for  the  little  church,  struggling 
under  difficulties  for  existence,  most  cheerfully  and 
heartily  would  they  respond  to  the  call  for  help  to 
perpetuate  his  memory  through  the  ages  to  come 
in  the  erection  of  a  suitable  and  much-needed 
"memorial  church  edifice." 

I  preached  for  nearly  four  years  at  a  school  house 
nearer  Dr.  Kincaid's  residence  than  the  church  in 
Girard.      One  thing  I  never  can  forget  in  connec- 


274  KINCAID,  THE  HERO  MISSIONARY. 

tion  with  this  work,  and  that  is  the  faithfulness  of 
this  aged  veteran  in  his  attendance  on  divine  wor- 
ship. Often  his  team  was  the  first  on  the  ground. 
I  remember  one  bitter  cold  morning  I  drove  six 
miles  to  this  school  house  and  found  Dr.  Kincaid 
and  his  daughters  Genie  and  Helen,  standing  out- 
side the  school  house  door  shivering  with  cold, 
waiting  for  the  "volunteer"  sexton  to  open  the 
door  and  fire  up.  I  could  always  count  on  Dr. 
Kincaid  being  present  when  able  to  sit  in  his  car- 
riage and  drive,  though  unable  to  feed  himself. 

I  frequently  visited  the  family  as  pastor,  and 
quite  often  conveyed  parties  from  Girard  to  his 
place  that  would  come  by  rail  to  see  and  converse 
with  him  who  had  "endured"  such  "hardships  as 
a  good  soldier  of  Jesus  Christ." 

He  possessed  an  almost  unlimited  fund  of  knowl- 
edge, was  a  good  conversationalist,  and  seemed 
never  to  tire  of  entertaining  and  instructing  the 
many  guests  who  entered  his  home.  "He  was 
fond  of  telling  how  he  shocked  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Wade 
once,  and  undid  the  effect  of  some  good  advice 
they  had  just  given. 

They  were  in  the  habit  of  taking  the  new  mis- 
sionaries in  and  explaining  to  them  how  dangerous 


LAST  YEARS  IN  BURMA.  275 

it  was  to  eat  freely  of  the  fruit  of  the  country. 
They  were  exceedingly  cautious,  and  were  partic- 
ularly afraid  of  pineapple.  One  thin  slice  was,  in 
their  estimation,  all  that  could  be  eaten  in  safety 
at  once,  and  that  only  by  a  person  of  good  diges- 
tion. In  a  letter  to  Mrs.  Moore,  Mrs.  Luther  says: 
"Your  father  was  at  the  tiffin  table  (a  lunch 
between  breakfast  and  dinner)  one  day  with  quite 
a  little  party  of  new  missionaries,  and  Mr.  Wade 
had  been  cautioning  them  about  too  free  indul- 
gence in  fruit.  'Yes,'  your  father  chimed. 
^ Moderation.^  Now,  about  pineapples,  one  must 
be  careful — be  moderate,  as  Brother  Wade  says. 
Now,  I  should  think  one  or  two  pineapples  at  a 
time  is  all  anyone  ought  to  eat.'  I  can  see  him 
now  throw  his  head  back  and  laugh  at  the  horror 
that  his  words  caused.  When  cholera  was 
especially  prevailing  he  would  say:  'One  must  be 
careful  about  food.  Cucumbers  I  find  to  be  the 
best  thing  to  keep  off  cholera.  Yes,  eat  freely  of 
cucumbers  and  you  will  be  all  right.'  He  was  very 
active,  a  hearty  eater,  and  seldom  experienced  any 
uneasiness  or  distress  from  anything  he  might  eat. 


CHAPTER  XXVI. 

HIS  KANSAS  HOME. 

It  would  afford  me  great  pleasure  to  have  the 
reader  and  the  many  friends  of  Dr.  Kincaid  and 
his  family  take  a  stroll  with  me  over  the  Kansas 
farm,  and  through  the  fruit  and  flower  gardens 
where  the  last  days  of  his  earthly  life  were  spent. 

He  had  built  for  them  a  comfortable  house,  on  a 
beautiful  elevation  overlooking  the  country  for 
miles  in  every  direction. 

This  house  was  surrounded  with  fruits  and  groves 
of  forest  trees,  planted  and  cultivated  with  care. 
The  house  stood  several  yards  from  the  road  that 
run  by  the  south  side  of  the  farm.  Nicely  kept 
driveways  angled  through  beds  of  flowering  shrubs 
and  plants,  some  of  which-  were  brought  from  the 
mission  fields  where  he  had  labored,  some  from 
other  parts  of  the  world. 

Mrs.  Kincaid,  though  quite  infirm,  took  great 
comfort  in  caring  for  these  flowers,  and  making  a 
most  cheerful,  happy  home  for  their  declining  days. 


HIS  KANSAS  HOME.  277 

This  home  was  sold,  and  one  purchased  in  Girard, 
and  the  very  day  set  for  removal  from  the  old  home- 
stead the  Master  said,  "It  is  enough,  come  up 
higher,"  and  the  church  privileges  Dr.  Kincaid  so 
much  desired  to  enjoy  were  exchanged  for  the 
scenes  in  glory  long  awaiting  him.  His  compan- 
ion only  lingered  with  us  three  weeks  longer  until 
she  went  to  join  him  whose  toils  and  labors  she 
had  shared  for  so  many  years,  full  of  work  for 
Jesus. 

I  had  read  the  "Hero  Missionary"  when  a  young 
man,  and  if  I  ever  had  an  ardent  desire  for  anything 
it  was  to  be  a  missionary  ;  but  now  I  can  see  plainly 
the  wisdom  of  God  in  not  opening  the  way  for  the 
fulfillment  of  that  ardent  desire.  And,  if  on  this 
effort  divine  approval  may  rest  I  shall  feel  satisfied. 

I  fully  appreciate  the  feelings  of  a  most  devoted 
friend  of  Dr.  Kincaid,  who  says : 

"I  am  glad  and  yet  sorry,  to  hear  that  his  life 
is  to  be  written.  I  feel  that  no  pen  can  do  him 
justice.  In  my  love  and  admiration  for  his  won- 
derful character,  I  am  jealous  lest  it  should  not 
have  the  masterly  portrayal  that  it  deserves." 

Not  a  page  has  been  written  without  a  conscious- 
ness of  my  inability  to  give  a  portrayal  of  the  love 


278  KINCAID,   THE  HERO  MISSIONARY. 

and  power  of  his  life.  Nor  could  I  feel  it  best  to  be 
wholly  silent,  because  I  may  not  do  in  a  masterly 
way  what  I  feel  must  be  done.  So  if  some  little 
good  may  be  accomplished  by  the  imperfect  por- 
trayal his  life  gets  here,  maybe  some  one  will  be 
induced  to  look  through  his  life  to  the  perfect  pat- 
tern of  which  his  was  only  designed  to  be  in  some 
parts  a  copy. 

'*No  memoir  of  him  will  ever  tell  half  the  story; 
but  up  yonder  is  the  record." 

When  I  stood  by  his  reclining  chair,  where  night 
after  night,  he  was  propped  up,  because  his  asthma 
was  so  bad  he  could  not  lie  down,  and  he  was  liable 
to  go  at  any  moment  into  the  spirit  world,  I  scarce 
could  keep  from  envying  him  the  journey  he  was  so 
soon  to  take ;  but  when  I  remembered  my  reward 
would  not  be  according  to  his  toil,  I  was  willing  to 
linger  and  labor  on  so  as  to  make  my  coming  into 
heaven  more  like  his  should  be. 

It  has  been  thought  no  larger  number  of  Karens 
would  welcome  to  the  better  shore  any  toiler  for 
Jesus  than  would  welcome  him  whose  life  and 
labors  have  been  sketched  here. 

Sister  Luther  says,  "Some  day  when  some  of 
us  get    there  with    the    few   souls   we   have   gar- 


HIS  KANSAS  HOME.  ^79 

nered  here  below,  and  we  see  one  go  by  with 
shining  garments,  stately  mein  and  a  crown  that  is 
ablaze  with  stars  that  shimmer  and  sparkle  like 
the  sun  for  their  exceeding  number  and  we  ask 
wonderingly,  Who  is  that?  The  angels  shall 
make  answer,  That  is  Eugenio  Kincaid." 

Gathered  about  him  will  not  be  a  mere  handful 
from  one  province  or  empire  but  multitudes  will 
gather  about  him  as  the  instrumental  cause  of 
their  salvation,  and  prove  the  affinity  of  soul 
between  him  and  them,  as  expressed  by  him,  while 
nearing  the  turbid  waters  of  death,  when  he  said, 
"Brother  Webb,  if  I  were  wholly  dependent,  I 
would  want  to  be  among  the  native  Christians  of 
Burma.      I    know  they  would  not  see  me  lack." 

He  did  not  lack  in  his  comfortable  home  here 
but  only  expressed  his  confidence  in  a  people 
whom  he  had  seen  won  from  heathenism  and  idol 
worship  to  salvation  and  the  true  and  living  God. 

He  retained  his  mental  faculties  to  the  very  last 
and  although  so  palsied  that  he  had  not  been  able 
to  feed  himself  for  years  before  his  death,  his  cour- 
age and  daring  never  failed  him. 

On  a  February  evening  before  his  death  in  April, 
and  when  past  eighty-six  years  of  age,  he  and  his 


28b  KINCAID,  THE  HERO  MISSIONARY. 

daughter  Genie  were  at  Girard  in  a  single  buggy. 
On  the  shortest  way  home  there  was  no  bridge 
over  Lightning  Creek,  a  stream  at  that  season  of 
the  year  generally  waist  deep  and  perhaps  four 
rods  in  width. 

.  The  stream  was  frozen  over,  he  thought  suffi- 
ciently solid  to  allow  them  to  drive  over  on  the  ice 
with  safety.  Genie  dissented  and  wanted  to  go  a 
mile  south  to  a  good  iron  bridge.  He  said,  "We 
have  not  time  and  shall  have  no  difficulty  in  cross- 
ing; go  ahead."  They  had  gone  only  far  enough 
from  the  shore  to  make  retreat  impossible,  when 
the  buggy  cut  through  the  ice,  which  also  gave 
way  under  the  horse  in  such  manner  as  to  get  both 
parties  into  the  water  waist  deep  but  they  finally 
reached  the  other  shore  in  safety,  of  one  mind 
about  the  bearing  qualities  of  the  ice,  wet  and 
wiser.  The  distance  of  three  miles  between  them 
and  home  was  soon  passed.  Genie  complaining 
somewhat.  But  I  well  remember  how  George 
related  to  me  this  occurrence  the  second  day  after- 
ward. He  said,  "Father  don't  seem  to  mind  a 
thing  like  that.  It  would  kill  me,  but  father 
regards  such  happenings  as  mere  trifles,"  and  so 
it  seemed,    for  he  experienced    not    the   slightest 


HIS  KANSAS  HOME.  58 1 

inconvenience  from  it  after  exchanging  his  wet 
suit  for  a  dry  one. 

Dr.  Kincaid  was  not  a  man  of  such  prepossess- 
ing and  overmastering  appearance  as  to  awe  men 
into  subjection,  or  the  adoption  of  his  plans.  He 
was  not  a  born  organizer  or  commander,  but  an 
incessant  worker — tender  and  loving,  yet  firm  as 
granite.  In  his  death  our  denomination  and  the 
Christian  world  at  large  lost  a  man  of  devotion, 
zeal  and  power,  whose  life  is  inscribed  on  the 
pages  of  history,  and  one  who  has  been  largely 
instrumental  in  moulding  and  shaping  the  charac- 
ter and  destiny  of  multitudes  in  different  nations 
of  the  earth. 

His  missionary  labors  in  Western  New  York  and 
through  Pennsylvania,  bound  the  people  to  him, 
and  drew  their  prayers  and  funds  to  the  support  of 
missions,  both  home  and  foreign,  and  to  the  found- 
ing and  endowment  of  Lewisburg  University. 

The  sum  of  his  influence  for  good  and  for  God 
— at  home  and  abroad — can  never  be  measured 
this  side  of  eternity.  His  sterling  integrity  and 
unswerving  devotion  to  truth  and  right,  and  his 
fear  of  nothing  but  to  do  wrong  were  traits  of  char- 
acter so  peculiarly  prominent  in  his  make-up,  that 


282  KINCAID,  THE  HERO  MISSIONARY. 

I  deem  it  wise  and  good,  in  this  age  of  "fiction" 
and  ''novel"  reading,  to  portray  in  some  sense  a 
life  stranger  than  fiction,  possessed  of  a  love  for 
Jesus  and  lost  men  stronger  than  death — a  courage 
that  could  meet  the  robbers  of  Northern  Burma, 
the  king's  court  at  Ava,  the  governor  at  Rangoon, 
or  the  council  at  Maulmain,  and  swerve  not  a 
moment  from  the  right  in  any  of  these  surround- 
ings. 

Grand  old  "Hero"  of  many  a  hard  fight, 
Always  found  on  the  side  of  truth  and  right, 
Until  God  spoke  out,  "My  servant,  'well  done,' 
Inherit  an  heirship  with  Jesus,  my  son." 


THE^PHILflPELPHlfl  nONFERENCE 

OF  BflFM  MlMM" 

1420  Chestnut  Street, 
Philadelphia,  Pa.  ,  April  23, 1883. 

At  a  regiilai'  meeting  of  the  Conference  held  this 
A.  M.  the  following  Minute,  as  prepared  by  Rev^d 
G.  M.  Spratt^  D.  D.,  tvas  read  and  unanimously 
adopted: — 

' '  Whereas,  a  well-ordered  Christian  life^  full 
of  deep  interest  in  the  history  of  Missions^  especi- 
ally in  connection  ivith  the  ''^American  Baptist 
Missio7tary  Union^ ' '  as  zvell  as  a  life  closely  identi- 
fied ivith  the  foundation  and  continued  prosperity 
of  the  ' '  University  at  Lewisburg^ ' '  and  other  ser- 
vices re7idered  to  the  De^iomination  as  a  Missionary 
for  several  years  in  the  central  portion  of  our  State ^ 
terminated  on  the  jd  instant^  in  the  death  of 
EUGENIO  KINCAID,  D.  P., 

therefore^ 

Resolved^  That  zve  deem  it  fitting  to  place  on 
record^  as  a  Conference^  our  high  appreciation  of  his 
valuable  services  during  7nore  than  half  a  century. 

Resolved,  That  we  express  to  the  family  of  our 
deceased  brother,  our  zvarm  sympathy,  in  their 
bereavement,  and  forward  them  a  copy  of  the  above 
Minute.  ' ' 

Attest: 

I.  Newton  Ritner,  Sec'y. 


284  KINCAID,  THE  HERO  MISSIONARY. 

Rev.  Eugenio  Kincaid,  D.  D.,  was  buried  in  the 
beautiful  city  cemetery  at  Girard,  Kansas,  April 
5th,  1883,  and  Mrs.  Barbara  McBain  Kincaid  was 
buried  at  his  side  April  29th  of  the  same  year. 

Peacefully  may  they  "rest  from  their  labors 
while  their  works  do  follow  them,"  until  the  Mas- 
ter calls  the  sleeping  dust  to  join  the  disembodied 
spirits  gone  on  before. 

His  mansion  complete  in  the  belter  land, 
Arranged  and  built  by  the  Master's  hand, 
Was  stored  with  the  precious  sheaves  of  grain 
His  toil  had  gleaned  from  the  wasting  plain. 

Not  a  vacant  room  or  a  barren  wall, 
But  garnered  full,  each  i-oom  and  hall, 
01  the  trophies  won  from  the  open  field, 
Whom  the  Holy  Spirit  for  Christ  had  sealed. 

And  when  he  stood  on  the  golden  shore, 
Beside  his  mansion,  of  choicest  store; 
With  joy  he  heard  from  his  gracious  Lord, 
"As  thy  toil  was  great,  so  thy  reward." 

And  Jesus  put  on  his  brow  a  crown, 

With  a  star  for  every  soul  laid  down, 

Then  gave  him  the  mansion  he'd  stored  so  well 

As  his  own,  in  which  forever  to  dwell. 


THE    END. 


DATE  DUE 

GAYLORD           #3523PI       Printed  in  USA 

